Alcantara, partner lose to Australian pair

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines’ Francis Casey Alcantara and Brazil’s Guilherme Clezar failed to sustain the momentum of their first set win and a fightback in the tiebreak as they dropped a 5-7, 6-4, 10-6 setback to Australia’s Jason Kubler and Benjamin Mitchell and bow out of contention in the Australian Juniors Open in Melbourne.

Alcantara, who ruled this event with Chinese Taipei’s Hsieh Cheng-peng last year, and Clezar battled back from a 1-4 deficit in the opening set by taking six of the next seven games. But the eighth-ranked tandem lost in the face of the Aussie pair’s aggressive game and consistent plays.

In the deciding set, Alcantara and Clezar trailed 3-7 in the super tiebreak but clawed their way back at 6-7 before the hosts regained control to complete the come-from-behind win.

Alcantara, the country’s top junior netter, thus failed to duplicate his stunning victory last year where he and Hsieh shocked their seeded rivals to snare the crown. 

Earlier, Alcantara also bowed out in singles play after absorbing a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 loss to former partner Huang Liang-Chi, also of Taiwan.

The Cagayan de Oro native, meanwhile, hopes to further hone his talent and skills as he gears up for the French Open in May, the Wimbledon Open in June and the US Open in September.           (AP)