The second mixed doubles semifinal featured a battle of first-time partnerships, with Tina Pisnik/Andrei Daescu coming away with an 11-7, 11-9 triumph over top seeds Anna Bright/Dekel Bar.

The encounter had an incredibly high level of play throughout, which shouldn’t come as a surprise with all four players having made at least one mixed final in 2024.

One of the difference-makers for the victors was Daescu’s expert use of his length, both to extend rallies and to counter shots that other players simply can’t reach.

He says that pattern recognition helped hm to find his best stuff as the match progressed.

“I started reading the patterns a little bit better the more we played,” he mentioned. “Tina was just super supportive and setting me up the whole time, and I started reading the ball better and then I was able to use my body, get big, get aggressive and get some points for the team.”

Daescu went on to applaud Pisnik for her excellent play throughout the contest, as well.

“Really, the MVP here is Tina. She was doing such a great job setting me up. I sped up a couple times to the wrong spot, and she was right behind me with the backhand counters,” he explained.

No. 2 seeds Jorja Johnson/Hayden Patriquin—who had an equally impressive performance of their own in the semifinals—await the tandem on Sunday.

Pisnik is hoping that the ‘one more ball’ mentality will help her and Daescu take gold.

“I think Andrei and I are both pretty decent at keeping the ball in play and making our opponents hit an extra shot, so we’ll just hope they go wild and overplay.”