To paraphrase comedian Steve Martin, it was a wild and crazy day on Saturday at the Carvana Mesa Cup presented by Proton. What to talk about first? Anna Bright and Rachel Rohrabacher squandering a match point in game two against Jorja Johnson and Vivian Glozman, only to come back to win game three after being down but not out? An epic men’s doubles match where Andrei Daescu and Christian Alshon take down the previously undefeated pair of Hayden Patriquin and Federico Staksrud? Dekel Bar and Anna Bright breaking through against Ben Johns and Anna Leigh Waters, who haven’t lost in a year?

 

The storylines were many and wild from Saturday. But let’s talk about just one, the men’s singles semifinal between Hunter Johnson and Staksrud. Staksrud has been ranked #1 for most of the last year. In singles, he has been steady as they come, almost never losing until maybe the finals, never losing early, winning medal after medal. Last week, in Tucson, he had an unheard of early loss to Tom Evans, but that could be blamed on the new Adidas paddle. This week, he was back to his trusty JOOLA and he looked like the old Fede all week.

 

In game one, Johnson took an early and big lead, 9-2 at one point. But, here came Staksrud, grinding out point after point. Johnson kept getting side outs, but could not break through with any points. Staksrud was relentlessly coming to the line and Johnson’s passing shots deserted him. Staksrud took game one 12-10, and you had to wonder if Johnson could come back after losing a game that looked in the bag.

 

 

In game two, it was a battle all the way. Neither player could take control. Johnson finally got to a game point, at 11-10. He hit a forehand passing shot that was called out. He challenged, and the video replay appeared to back him up, with the ball looking to be dead bang on the line. However, the video referee said the out call would stand. Johnson appealed to a higher court, asking head referee Don Stanley to take a look. This was his right, but risked a further penalty if Stanley did not change the call. Stanley saw what the crowd saw and ruled the ball was in, giving game two to Johnson, 12-10.

 

Staksrud did not like the change of call, to put it mildly. He protested, to no avail. Early in game three, Staksrud was given a technical for smacking a ball into the crowd. Johnson raced to a 6-2 lead, and on the side change, Staksrud was assessed another technical for abusive language, which resulted in a point penalty. It was now Staksrud’s turn to demand Don Stanley intervene. Unfortunately for Staksrud, this time Stanley upheld the referee decision, so another point penalty was assessed to Staksrud. A 6-2 lead had now grown to 8-2, without a point being played.

 

When the match finally resumed, Staksrud won a few points, but no comeback appeared and Johnson ran out game three to win 11-5. 

 

After the match, Staksrud complimented Johnson, but complained that the referees were biased against him because he is from Argentina.

 

 

Staksrud is a great player. From personal experience, I think he is a good person too. But, he went too far in this one, letting his emotions get the best of him. No one is biased against him. I do think there was a glitch there in the video system, as the call at the end of game two certainly appeared to be an easy overrule that should not have necessitated a Don Stanley intervention.

 

But perhaps more importantly, did Saturday indicate a changing of the guard in men’s singles? Staksrud and Johns had been dueling for the #1 spot for a long time. Staksrud had the better overall record, but Johns was 6-0 against Staksrud. The argument of Staksrud or Johns as #1 had its proponents on both sides. But were both sides wrong and is Johnson the new sheriff in town? That question may well be answered on Sunday, when Johnson takes on Johns for gold in Mesa.

 

If you thought it was impossible for Saturday to top Friday, but it did, is it possible Sunday will top them both? Be there in person or on Pickleballtv to find out the answer.

 

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