PHOENIX, AZ - Federico Staksrud’s best shot in singles is probably his forehand drive. When he’s not hitting it like he’s capable of, it puts him in a tough position.

That’s what happened to the No. 2 seed in the first game of the men’s singles semifinal against Tyson McGuffin.

Staksrud couldn’t find his form from the baseline in that game, eventually losing 9-11. One of the challenges he faced was dealing with the high-quality returns of the No. 3 seed that didn’t let him attack on his third shots like he usually tries to.

“His returns were really low,” Staksrud explained. “I was having trouble trying to get shape on my thirds.”

Early in the second game, players were sidelined for ten minutes due to rain.

When they returned to the court after the brief delay, it was Staksrud who took control of the match, finding his range on the forehand wing and getting the better of McGuffin in cat-and-mouse rallies to take the second game, 11-7.

The 2023 silver medalist didn’t look back from there, executing his best shots of the match in Game 3 to win 11-4 and make the singles final for the second consecutive tournament to start off 2024.

Even when he didn’t feel like he was close to his best early on in the match, Staksrud just tried to remember all the time he puts into training and let that confidence get him back on track mentally.

“I tell myself that I play pickleball for four hours every day and that this is what I practice for. At the end of the day, I try my best and if it works, it works. If not, there’s a tournament every week,” he joked.

He’ll take on No. 8 seed Jaume Martinez Vich for the men’s singles crown on Sunday.