Federico Staksrud and Connor Garnett booked their spots in the men’s singles semifinals with three-game wins early Friday morning.

Staksrud got the job done against No. 5 seed Jaume Martinez Vich, as he dropped the first game but eventually captured an 8-11, 11-5, 11-7 victory.

The No. 2 seed jumped out to an 8-1 lead in the deciding game before Martinez Vich clawed his way back to 6-8, but Staksrud proved to be too solid down the stretch and triumphed after over an hour on court.

The Argentinian, who won this event in 2024, spoke afterwards about what makes Worlds bring out the extra emotion from the athletes.

“This tournament means more than all the other ones. There are more points on the line, we’re at the nicest venue, and it’s the biggest party that we have all year,” he told Pickleballtv’s Kamryn Blackwood and Matt Manasse. “The whole season kind of builds to this moment, so I didn’t want to exit early, especially in singles. This is what I play for, these types of moments.”

While Staksrud was battling on Nature’s Sunshine Championship Court, Connor Garnett was doing the same on Carvana Grandstand Court.

The No. 4 seed also dropped the first game against a resurgent No. 22 seed Jay Devilliers, but he found his groove to eventually come away with a 4-11, 11-4, 11-2 victory.

These results set the stage for the third meeting of the year between Staksrud and Garnett. Staksrud has won both matchups in 2025 and leads the all-time head-to-head 8-7, so Garnett will be looking to get back in the win column on Semifinal Saturday.