Federico Staksrud earned the second spot in the men’s singles final with an 11-6, 11-8 victory over No. 4 seed Hunter Johnson.

Johnson won their most recent encounter—a wild contest in the semifinals in Mesa—but Staksrud got the job done in relatively straightforward fashion on Thursday.

Both players had to survive three-game epics in the Round of 16 just to make the semifinals. Staksrud saved two match points against Noe Khlif to advance, while Johnson outdueled John Lucian Goins 12-10 in the third.

Staksrud took advantage of a shaky performance from the forehand wing of Johnson. The forehand is usually one of Johnson’s greatest strengths, but it wasn’t nearly as consistent as it usually is.

The top seed took full advantage to advance to his first singles final since the Masters in January.

Staksrud spoke about the challenge of playing against Johnson, who has skyrocketed up the PPA singles rankings over the past year.

“I’ve been saying this for like a year and a half. Hunter is an unbelievable player. I mean, he’s #3 in the world right now, but he could be #1 or #2,” he asserted. “Honestly, he has all the shots you need in singles: the third shot, the return, the ground strokes. He makes it tough.”

Staksrud will face Christian Alshon—who he’s also playing men’s doubles with this week—in the final.