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Alcantara, partner settle for runner-up honors in Thailand tilt

Sports

Alcantara, partner settle for runner-up honors in Thailand tilt

By Kristel Satumbaga-Villar

At A Glance

Francis Casey Alcantara and Sun Fajing came close to winning their first Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) doubles title this year but succumbed to a more experienced rival in the finals of the Bangkok Open 2 Challenger in Nonthaburi, Thailand over the weekend.

Francis Casey Alcantara and Sun Fajing came close to winning their first Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) doubles title this year but succumbed to a more experienced rival in the finals of the Bangkok Open 2 Challenger in Nonthaburi, Thailand over the weekend.

francis casey alcantara — Francis Casey Alcantara, right, post with his runner-up trophy with doubles partner Sun Fajing of China. (Francis Casey Alcantara Facebook)

The unseeded Filipino-Chinese tandem fought hard against the tough plays of French third seed Gregoire Jacq and Manuel Guinard but came up short especially in the crunch to yield 6-4, 7-6 (6) in the $80,000 ATP tournament.

Jacq and Guinard banked on their hard serves to challenge Alcantara and Sun’s returns and managed to hit five aces against a lone double fault.

Despite the loss, it was a big improvement for Alcantara as he eclipsed last week’s semifinal finish in the first leg of the tournament with Japanese partner Kaichi Uchida.

Prior to the defeat, Alcantara and Sun edged Great Britain’s Scott Duncan and Canada’s Kelsey Stevenson, 6-4, 7-6 (4), then stunned fourth seed Hans Hack of Mexico and South Korea’s Nam Jisung, 6-1, 6-2, and thumped alternates Giovanni Fonio and Salvatore Caruso of Italy, 6-4, 6-3.

It would also boost his ATP doubles rankings where he is currently at a career-high No. 199.

Alcantara and Sun will try their luck in the third leg of the tournament, where they are scheduled to face Thai rivals Pruchya Isaro and Maximus Jones in the opening round on Tuesday, Jan. 16.

This wouldn’t be the first time that Alcantara is facing the Thai duo after he and Uchida bowed to the same foe in last week’s semis match of this tournament.

Related Tags

Francis Casey Alcantara

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