Top Filipino doubles player Francis Casey Alcantara and Pawit Sornlaksup of Thailand held off a furious rally from third seeds Maan Kesharwani and Manish Sureshkumar of India to prevail in three sets, 7-6 (4), 5-7, 10-8, and win the ITF M15 Nonthaburi on Saturday.
Alcantara and Sornlaksup won a tightly contested first set in which both pairs held serve throughout. The second-seeded Filipino-Thai tandem proved steadier in the tiebreak to take a one-set lead.
The second set followed a similar pattern, with both duos holding serve until the 10th game. The Indian pair, however, finally scored the first and only service break of the match in the 11th game, which proved to be enough separation for them to draw level and force a super tiebreak.
Alcantara and Sornlaksup seized back the momentum and raced to an 8-3 lead in the decider. But the Indians refused to fold, fighting back to move within a point of extending the match at 8-9.
The Filipino-Thai tandem, however, put an end to the comeback and clinched the championship at the ALM x IMPACT Tennis and Sports Center in Thailand.
Alcantara and Sornlaksup showed remarkable poise and resilience throughout their title run in Nonthaburi. After a straight-set triumph in the opening round, they prevailed in thrilling fashion over Japan’s Shu Muto and Ko Suzuki in the quarterfinals, 6-4, 4-6, 11-9.
In the semifinals, Alcantara and Sornlaksup had to recover from a first-set loss and a 0-2 deficit in the second set before eking out a 1-6, 6-4, 10-4 victory over fourth-seeded Americans Michael Blando and Hugo Hashimoto.
Alcantara, formerly ranked No. 162 in the world in men’s doubles and the first Filipino junior doubles Grand Slam champion after winning the 2009 Australian Open boys’ doubles title, is coming off a championship run in the Gentry Open last week in Bulacan, where he teamed up with Filipino-American Christopher Papa.
Alcantara and Papa will now look to bring their success on the local circuit to the international stage when they partner in back-to-back ATP Challenger events in Vietnam over the next two weeks.
