Fil-American Ruben Gonzales and partner Darian King of Barbados rose from a slow start to barge into the semifinals of the Abierto Internacional Varonil Pachuca tennis tournament in Pachuca, Mexico.
The third-seeded Gonzales and King found their composure in the second frame and escaped the resilient plays of Bolivian pair Alejandro Mendoza and Federico Zeballos to win 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in this $10,000 International Tennis Federation (ITF) Futures event.
The triumph set up Gonzales and King a meeting with the dangerous Marcelo Barrios Vera of Chile and Alejandro Tabilo of Canada, who stunned Mexican top seed Hans Hach and Luis Patino, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 10-8.
Gonzales has been searching for its first title this year following unsuccessful attempts with different partners that include the USA Futures in Bakersfield, California last March where he and American partner Sekou Bangoura settled for the runner-up honors.
A title win would also improve the 30-year-old’s current doubles ranking at No. 529.