Christian Alshon and Kaitlyn Christian competing in mixed doubles at the MB Hanoi Cup in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Christian Alshon and Kaitlyn Christian competing in mixed doubles at the MB Hanoi Cup in Hanoi, Vietnam. PPA Tour Asia

PPA Vietnam Day 3 Recap: Truong, Ly set all-Vietnamese final in men’s singles as Christian, Alshon surge into mixed doubles fina

The MB Hanoi Cup continued Friday evening with semifinal action at My Dinh Indoor Athletics Arena in the Vietnam capital.

The men’s singles draw continued to deliver high-quality matches, with Hien Truong knocking off top-seeded Federico Staksrud by an 11-7, 4-11, 11-5 score line.

 

Truong got up 8-1 in the deciding game, but Staksrud went on a run of his own to cut the lead to just two. With Truong serving at 6-8, Staksrud was called for a fault when he allegedly hit the kitchen with his paddle while following through on a volley.

 

With review unavailable for the infraction, Truong was awarded the point, and the 21-year-old went on to close out the contest at the ninth opportunity.

In the final, Truong will face his compatriot Hoang Nam Ly, who dispatched No. 4 seed Dylan Frazier 11-5, 11-6.

Ly, who stunned No. 2 seed Christian Alshon earlier in the week, spoke about how special it is to make a deep run in his home country.

“Everyone is supporting so much, and I definitely feel the energy,” he said

Sunday’s clash will be the first meeting between Truong and Ly on the PPA Tour since Truong’s 11-9, 11-3 win in the final of the Melbourne Pickleball Cup back in November.

In mixed doubles, Kaitlyn Christian/Christian Alshon took down No. 2 seeds Anna Bright/Hayden Patriquin 11-9, 11-8 in the day’s final contest.

The No. 4 seeds were pushed to three games in both of their previous matches, but they found their best level with a spot in the final on the line.

Christian, who will also go for gold in women’s singles, spoke about her experience partnering up with Alshon with this week.

“It’s such a pleasure to share the court with Christian. He’s an absolute animal, and I just try to do what little I can and let him do the rest. It’s been a really fun week playing with him,” she mentioned.

Top seeds Anna Leigh Waters/Ben Johns await in the final.

Live broadcast coverage of the bronze and gold medal matches will begin Saturday evening at 9pm ET on Pickleballtv.

Here is the full order of play: