Men’s doubles semifinal action began with Federico Staksrud/Hayden Patriquin securing an 11-4, 11-5 victory over Dekel Bar/Christian Alshon.

The tandem played their best match of the week thus far, with Staksrud’s steady left side play complementing Patriquin’s crafty right-side antics.

It looked like Bar/Alshon—who went undefeated in pool play—would potentially force a third game when they got up 5-1 in Game 2, but Staksrud/Patriquin scored the final ten points of the match to close it out.

One of the interesting—and humorous—dynamics of the match was Patriquin’s attempts to tag Bar out of the air, which he did multiple times.

“I’m just happy we won those points,” Staksrud said of his partner’s antics. “Dekel is a big guy, a tall guy, so he’s an easier target than others. But Hayden didn’t hit those shots in the court, that’s for sure.”

Staksrud/Patriquin will take on either Tyson McGuffin/Andrei Daescu or JW Johnson/Gabe Tardio in Sunday’s final as they look to capture their third title of the year together.

In the second men’s doubles semifinal, JW Johnson/Gabe Tardio outdueled Tyson McGuffin/Andrei Daescu by an 11-2, 5-11, 11-2 score line.

McGuffin/Daescu were undefeated through pool play with a 3-0 record, but Johnson/Tardio earned the win with precise dinks and impressive hand speed at the kitchen line.

They did falter in Game 2, however, which Tardio attributes to a lack of aggression compared to the first and third games.

“I think we just stopped being aggressive. I kind of lost focus a little bit, but I think being aggressive was the main thing,” he shared. “Thank God Julie [Johnson] was on our bench. She had some good things to say and gave us a couple of tips that helped us a lot.”

Johnson/Tardio will face Federico Staksrud/Hayden Patriquin for the gold.