OVERLAND PARK, KS - Federico Staksrud and Gabriel Tardio booked their spot in the men’s doubles semifinals with a convincing 11-5, 11-5 victory over No. 5 seeds Matt Wright and Andrei Daescu.

This is just the tandem’s first time playing a PPA tournament together, but their complimentary game styles and familiarity from training together regularly in Florida have helped them wreak havoc on the field in Kansas City. ‘

“One good thing is that I prefer the left, and Gabe prefers the right,” Staksrud said of the partnership. “He has such good hands that I can be consistent dinking crosscourt with the person that is in front of him, and they can’t really attack him because he’s going to counter basically everything really well.”

At just 18 years old, Tardio is looking to change the way the right side is traditionally played in pickleball.

“Back in the day, the right-side player was just supposed to be the setup guy and play steady without doing too much, but I think being on the right side and having your forehand covering the line opens up opportunities to attack,” he explained. “Also, a lot of players have a backhand flick, and being on the right side as a right-handed player means that your backhand is in the middle. Being able to use that flick and pinching middle to bait your opponent to go up the line to your forehand is something not many people do, but it’s definitely been working for me.”

Staksrud and Tardio will look to keep the momentum going when they take on No. 2 seeds Ben and Collin Johns in the semifinals.