MANILA, Philippines –The country’s top doubles player, Francis Casey Alcantara, finally ended a long dry spell that lasted three months.
Teaming up with rising Thai teen star Maximus Jones, Alcantara won the ITF M5 Nakhon Si Thammarat with a thrilling final victory over India’s Rishi Reddy and Dhakshineswar Suresh, 7-6(7), 6-4, on Saturday, July 13, at the Walailak University Tennis Centre in Thailand.
After reaching a career-high doubles world ranking of 162 last February, Alcantara found himself in a slump, exiting in the opening round of 10 straight tournaments in the international pro tour – the ATP Delhi Open in late February, seven Challenger events, and two ITF tournaments in China in late May.
The 32-year-old Alcantara and the 19-year-old Jones also reached the final of the ITF M4 Nakhon Si Thammarat last week, but lost in straight sets to fourth seeds Adil Kalyanpur and Vishnu Vardhan of India, 6-3, 6-2.
The top-seeded Filipino and Thai duo would not be denied this week.
Alcantara and Jones secured the match’s only service break in the third game of the second set, allowing them to seize a 3-1 lead which they never relinquished. It was enough cushion for them to finish the second set in 30 minutes after 10 games.
This was in start contrast to the opener which saw both pairs holding serve the entire first set. The top seeds went up 3-1 in the tiebreak, but their Indian foes came back to score three straight points to gain the advantage.
Alcantara’s veteran smarts came to play, helping him and Jones hold steady in the crucial stretches of the tiebreak, which helped them win on the third set point.
Because of rain delays, both finalists played their semifinal matches also on Saturday.
Alcantara and Jones had to go through the wringer to triumph over fourth seeds Yamato Sueoka of Japan and Thantub Suksumrarn of Thailand, 6-3, 4-6, 10-8.
Reddy and Suresh, on the other hand, eliminated their compatriots and last week’s champions, Kalyanpur and Vardhan, 6-4, 7-6(8).
Alcantara and Jones will aim for back-to-back titles next week in the ITF M6 Nakhon Si Thammarat also in the same venue. – Rappler.com
