PHOENIX, AZ - This is the second tournament that Christian Alshon and Julian Arnold have played together, but they’re already into their first semifinal as a team.

The No. 6 seeds took down No. 4 seeds Federico Staksrud and Pablo Tellez 11-6, 12-10 in the quarterfinals, using their third shot drives to keep their opponents off-balance when unwinding the stack on the return.

The result may not seem like a big deal given the small difference in seeds, but Staksrud and Tellez have cemented themselves as one of the top men’s doubles pairings since they began playing together last season.

It’s the second semifinal Alshon has made this week, as he and Catherine Parenteau almost took down Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns in the mixed doubles semis Friday afternoon.

He and Arnold will face Johns brothers in the semifinals.

In the very next match on Grandstand Court, Zane Navratil and Erik Lange got the better of Riley Newman and Thomas Wilson.

The No. 12 seeds split the first two games with their opponents and found themselves trailing 4-8 in the decider, but the Major League Pickleball rivals scored the final seven points of the match to escape with a 5-11, 11-8, 11-8 triumph over the No. 3 seeds.

They will face either James Ignatowich and Matt Wright or Tyson McGuffin and Dekel Bar in the semifinals.