Alcantara, partner rally vs Aussies to enter Bengaluru doubles semis

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino tennis ace Francis Alcantara is going to the semifinals of the Bengaluru Tennis Open doubles after scoring a come-from-behind 1-6, 6-2, 10-7 victory over the Australian pair of Adam Walton and Tristan Schoolkate Thursday evening (Manila time.)

Alcantara and his partner, Japan’s Kaichi Uchida, had to shake off a sluggish start to grab the semifinal seat.

They were unable to find their footing early on, going down 0-4 before winning the fifth game.

This was the only game they won in the first set, as they tried to fight in the sixth game, but to no avail.

In the set point, they were simply blanked.

The Filipino-Japanese pair then scored the huge second set, going up 4-1.

Walton and Schoolkate fought tooth and nail for the sixth game to inch closer, 4-2, but Uchida and Alcantara won the next two games to secure the extender.

In the tiebreaker, the Filipino-Japanese duo went up 4-1, but the Australian team eventually took the lead, 7-6.

Alcantara and Uchida then won the next games to secure the semifinal berth.

Walton and Schoolkate had seven service aces in the match compared to two for Alcantara and Uchida, but they committed 10 double faults.

The winners had more receiving points won, with 24, compared to their opponents who had 19.

The Aussie pair won 30 service points to just 27 for the semifinalists.

This is a big win for Alcantara and Uchida, as they defeated the team that dominated the first-seeded pair of the tourney.

Up next for the two are the Indian pair of Saketh Myneni and Ramkuymar Ramanathan. The match will be played Friday night.