Francis Casey Alcantara and American Evan King survived the tough plays of Indian duo Niki Kalinyanda Poonacha and Saketh Myeni, 6-4, 4-6, 10-8, to advance to the quarterfinals of the Bangkok Open 2 in Thailand on Wednesday, Jan. 8.

The unseeded pair recovered from a second-set meltdown and took a 7-4 lead in the deciding third set, keeping their composure despite the persistent attempts of their rivals before claiming the victory in one hour and 21 minutes.

Poonacha and Myeni actually seized the next three points to tie it at 7-all before Alcantara and King retaliated and won three of the last four points en route to the win.

“First match and first win of the year,” Alcantara wrote on his social media moments after the victory.

The triumph sent Alcantara and King to a quarters date with Japanese tandem Seita Watanabe and Takeru Suzuki, who stunned German top seeds Jakob Schnaitter and Mark Wallner, 4-6, 6-3, 10-4.

The two pairs have never faced each other on the court, but on paper, Evan holds the highest Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) doubles rankings among the four at No. 78, compared to Watanabe and Suzuki at Nos. 173 and 145, respectively.

Alcantara is ranked No. 227.

The said ATP Challenger 75 event, which stakes a total prize fund of $100,000, is just one of the many tournaments lined up for Alcantara as he bids his first-ever title in the Challenger Tour. He has so far wond 25 doubles crowns in the Futures Tour of the International Tennis Federation (ITF).