MANILA — Filipino tennis player Francis Casey Alcantara has advanced to the semifinals of the men’s doubles at the ATP Challenger in Zhangjiagang, China.

Alcantara and his partner, Pruchaya Isaro of Thailand, secured their spot in the semifinals with a victory over New Zealand’s Ajeet Rai and Finn Reynolds, 6-3, 6-7 (7), 10-6, on Thursday.

In the semifinals, Alcantara and Isaro will face the duo of Yu Hsiou Hsu from Chinese Taipei and Fajing Sun from China, who triumphed over Russia’s Evgeny Donsky and Evgeny Karlovskiy with scores of 7-6 (0), 6-4.

“We played a great match and are thrilled with the win, especially after being down 3-5 in the super tiebreak,” Alcantara said.

Alcantara’s recent semifinal appearance follows his feat at the Jinan Challenger tourney, where he and Sun were defeated by Korean Yun Seong Chung and Japanese Yuta Shimizu.

Alcantara, who previously won an ITF event in New Delhi, India, last year with Isaro, is determined to perform well. He recently claimed two titles in Thailand with local partner Maximus Jones and won his first title of the year in Chennai, India, with Indonesian Christopher Rungkat.

Currently ranked No. 214 in the world’s doubles rankings, Alcantara reached a career-high No. 162 earlier this year.

el Amigo/mnm

MANILA — Filipino tennis sensation Francis Casey Alcantara is set to compete in three more tournaments in China over the next three weeks. Alcantara will be heading to Zhangjiagang, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, maintaining a positive outlook following recent performances.

In the Jinan Challenger 50 event, Alcantara and his doubles partner, Fajing Sun, were narrowly defeated by Korean Yun Seong Chung and Japanese Yuta Shimizu in the semifinals, with scores of 6-7 (4), 4-6. Chung and Shimizu went on to win the title against Australian Edward Winter and Japanese Rio Noguchi.

Alcantara shared, “It was a close match. I’ll be here in China for three more weeks, and I hope to perform better in the upcoming tournaments.”

Earlier this month, Alcantara reached the semifinals in Chinese Taipei with partner Ray Ho, falling to Indian Sai Karteek Reddy Ganta and Thai Wishaya Trongcharoenchaikul. Last month, Alcantara and Maximus Jones secured two titles in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand, while he and Christopher Rungkat won a title in Chennai, India.

Alcantara also achieved notable results this year, including a runner-up finish with Sun at the Nonthaburi 2 Challenger and semifinal appearances in Anning, China, and Bengaluru, India. Currently ranked No. 218 in the world doubles rankings, Alcantara reached a career-high No. 162 in February.

ia/mnm