By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Francis Casey Alcantara and Japanese partner Hiroki Moriya routed the Indonesian pair of Natahan Anthony Barki and Christopher Rungkat, 6-2, 6-1, to capture the International Tennis Federation (ITF) M25 Jakarta men’s doubles title in Indonesia over the weekend.
The top-seeded Alcantara and Moriya displayed cohesion and chemistry against their third-picked rivals to dominate the $25,000 competition.
“Thank you Hiroki Moriya san for the last minute partnership. It was fun to be on court with you,” Alcantara wrote on his social media.
It was the second doubles title for Alcantara this year after winning the M25 New Delhi title with Thai Pruchya Isaro last March.
Moriya, on the other hand, gained his first doubles crown this year.
Alcantara and Moriya never dropped a set throughout the match as they trounced Malaysian Christian Chin and Savriyan Danilov in the opening round, 6-4, 6-0; Indonesians Achad Imam Maruf and Faried Widyarohmadhiansyah in the quarterfinals, 6-1, 6-1; and Greece’s Markos Kalovelonis and Isaro in the semis, 6-4, 6-3.
Alcantara, a gold medalist in the men’s doubles of the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia, also competed in the singles but lost in the second round to Australian Derek Pham, 6-1, 2-6, 10-2.
