By MARK REY MONTEJO
Francis Casey Alcantara and Thai partner Pruchya Isaro flashed their fiery form and shrugged off Australia’s Ajeet Rai and Finn Reynolds, 6-3, 6-7 (7), 10-6, to march on to the semifinal round of the Zhangjiagang International Challenger in China on Thursday, Aug. 29.
Alcantara and Isaro didn’t let a second-set hiccup dampen their momentum as they bounced back in the third set where they displayed poise to seal the match and get closer for the double’s crown of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) competition.
Up next in the semifinal for the unseeded Filipino-Thai duo are Chinese Taipei’s Yu Hsiou Hsu and China’s Sun Fajing, who toppled Russians Evgeny Donskoy and Evgeny Karlovskiy in the quarters, 7-6, 6-4.
After a strong opening set, the 2023 Asian Games mixed doubles bronze medalist and Pruchya lost their steam which Australians took advantage of.
But Alcantara showed his veteran poise to lead his Thai partner with strong executions and leadership that eventually carried them to a great separation which was enough to seal the game over the Aussies.
Other semis pairing features Japan’s Kaichi Uchida and Takeru Yuzuki against Belarus’ Mikalai Haliak and Slovakia’s Lukas Pokorny.
Prior to their semis appearance, the pair disarmed Japan’s Rio Noguchi and Seita Watanabe, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 10-7, in Round of 16.
Alcantara is eyeing to surpass his bridesmaid finish in the last edition while also targeting another trophy to his 25 ITF doubles titles – including three this year.
