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Alcantara, partner bow out in semis of Challenger tourney

Sports

Alcantara, partner bow out in semis of Challenger tourney

By Kristel Satumbaga-Villar

At A Glance

Francis Casey Alcantara and Sun Fajing of China yielded to unseeded Chinese pair Xin Gao and Aoran Wang, 7-6 (8), 6-3, in the semifinals of the ATP Shenzhen Luohu Challenger in China on Friday, Oct. 20.

Francis Casey Alcantara and Sun Fajing of China yielded to unseeded Chinese pair Xin Gao and Aoran Wang, 7-6 (8), 6-3, in the semifinals of the ATP Shenzhen Luohu Challenger in China on Friday, Oct. 20.

Francis Casey Alcantara, right, and Sun Fajing of China compete in the semis of the ATP Shenzhen Luohu Challenger. (Francis Casey Alcantara Facebook)

Seeded third in the tournament, Alcantara and Sun mustered all their might in outhustling their pesky rivals only to fall short in the tight opening set before losing steam in the second frame.

A victory for the Filipino-Chinese tandem could have set them up a championship date with Mikalai Haliak and Greece’s Markos Kalovelonis, who survived a close opening set before stunning second pick Benjamin Lock of Zimbabwe and Rubin Statham of New Zealand, 7-6 (2), 6-2.

Alcantara was proud of their efforts despite the defeat.

“We couldn’t get the win in the semifinals today but we played some solid tennis throughout the week,” Alcantara wrote on his social media.

Prior to the loss, Alcantara and Sun outplayed wildcard bets Wang Chukang of China and Germany’s Jimmy Yang in the opening round, 6-4, 6-4, and another wildcard duo on hometown bets Qian Sun and Sheng Tang, 6-1, 6-3.

Alcantara and Sun also played in the ATP Shenzhen Longhua Challenger last week, but lost in the opening round to Taiwanese pair Hsu Yu Hsiou and Huang Tsung-Hao, 6-3, 6-1.

Alcantara is coming off a bronze medal finish with Alex Eala in the mixed doubles of the 19^th Asian Games held in Hangzhou, China.

Related Tags

Francis Casey Alcantara ATP Challenger

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