By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Philippines’ top doubles player Francis Casey Alcantara tries his luck in the Challenger Tour once again when he competes in the Bangkok 3 Open in Thailand this week.
The 32-year-old Alcantara will have a new partner this time in Zdenek Kolar of Czechia in his bid for a breakthrough doubles title in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).
The duo is scheduled to meet wildcard bets Maximus Jones and Wishaya Trongcharoenchaikul of Thailand in the opening round of the 16-pair field.
Incidentally, Alcantara has played with Jones a few times, even winning two International Tennis Federation (ITF) titles with him last year in the two legs of the M15 Nakhon Si Thammarat in Thailand.
Wishaya is also no stranger to Alcantara as the Thai has also been a regular fixture in the Southeast Asian Games and the Davis Cup scenes like the Filipino bet.
Alcantara recently skidded 20 notches from No. 227 to 247 in the latest ATP doubles rankings and is hoping for a better outcome in this tournament to gain enough ranking points to regain his bearings.
Last week, he and American partner Evan King finished in the quarterfinals of the Bangkok Open 2 following a loss to Japanese pair Seita Watanabe and Takeu Suzuki in three sets.
Alcantara hopes his chemistry with Kolar would get favorable results, especially with the Czech’s wide experience.
Ranked No. 331 in the ATP doubles, Kolar has been competing in the ATP Tour since 2018 and went as high as No. 110 in the rankings.
