LAKEVILLE, MN - The last time I wrote about Federico Staksrud in singles, he had just made his third singles final in three tournaments to start off the year.

Now, he’s made four finals in four tournaments.

Instead of having to get through Jack Sock, which he had to do in Palm Springs and Mesa, the No. 1 seed had to face someone he’s much more familiar with: his doubles partner, Pablo Tellez.

Going into this match, Staksrud had won five of their seven singles meetings. After today, he’s won six of eight.

The lefty Tellez came out strong with his long reach making it difficult for Staksrud to pass him at the kitchen line, but Staksrud held his own and took Game 1 11-8.

The Argentine kept the pressure on and took Game 2 11-2 to book his ticket to Championship Sunday.

Competing against someone whose game he knows so well (and who knows his game just as well) made for some challenges for Staksrud.

“We practice so much together, so you kind of have to bring something extra when you play in an actual tournament,” he told Pickleball TV’s Dave Fleming.

That ‘something extra’ helped earn Staksrud a spot in the gold medal match against No. 2 seed Connor Garnett.