PH tennis players get busy abroad


From left, Treat Huey, Ruben Gonzales, Francis Casey Alcantara

Filipino tennis players get busy abroad when they compete in Future and Challenger events this week.

Davis Cupper Francis Casey Alcantara pairs up with Canadian Kelsey Stevenson in the M15 Sharm ElSheikh event in Egypt, which offers a total tournament prize of $15,000.

The duo is set to clash with Thailand’s Maximus Jones and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Uzhylovskyl in the opening round doubles.

Alcantara and Stevenson are coming off a runner-up finish on the first leg of the said men’s Future event a week ago after yielding to Italians Francesco Vilardo and Samuel Vincent Ruggeri, 2-6, 7-5, 10-3.

Alcantara is also hoping to bounce back from a first round singles loss in the qualifiers to Frances’ Cesar Bourgois, 0-6, 7-6 (6), 11-9.

Fil-Am Ruben Gonzales, meanwhile, teams up with Colombia’s Nicolas Barrientos as they collide with Argentineans Tomas Martin Etcheverry and ThiagoAgustin Tirante in the opening round of the Challenger ATP Cachantun Cup in Santiago, Chile.

The pair is seeded third in the event.

Gonzales is coming off a semifinal finish with Swiss Luca Margaroli at the Cleveland Open in Ohio early February.

Fil-Am Treat Huey, for his part, hooks up with Australian Matt Reid when they face Americans Alex Lawson and Evan King in the Challenger Monterrey in Mexico.

Huey’s last tournament came in the ATP250 Delray Beach in Florida in February where he and Denis Kudla finished in the quarterfinals.