FRANCIS CASEY ‘NIÑO’ ALCANTARA added another international doubles title to his belt after teaming up with Thailand’s Pawit Sornlaksup to win the recent International Tennis Federation (ITF) M15 Nonthaburi doubles championship.
Alcantara and Sornlaksup beat India’s Maan Kesharwani and Manish Sureshkumar, 7-6(4), 5-7, 10-8, in a close final at the ALM x IMPACT Tennis and Sports Center in Nonthaburi.
The Nonthaburi title was another strong international result for Alcantara, who entered the tournament fresh from his Gentry Open doubles victory in Bulacan with Filipino-American Christopher Papa.
After taking the opening set in a tiebreak, the Filipino-Thai pair faced a deciding super tiebreak after the Indian pair won the second set.
Alcantara and Sornlaksup surged to an 8-3 lead in the decider before holding off a late comeback to close out the championship, 10-8.
The veteran doubles specialist, formerly ranked No. 162 in the world in men’s doubles, continues to build momentum on the international circuit.
Alcantara is also the first Filipino junior doubles Grand Slam champion, having won the 2009 Australian Open boys’ doubles title.
Alcantara will reunite with Papa for back-to-back Association of Tennis Professionals Challenger events in Vietnam over the next two weeks.
Alcantara is competing out of Cagayan de Oro since he was 12 years old and is supported by long-time tennis patron Romeo Chan, a support that helped him balance his secondary education at Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan while competing in junior grand slams around the world.
In 2009, he captured the Australian Open Junior title and climbed as high as No. 14 in the world junior rankings, laying the foundation for a successful pro career.
Alcantara has since been a stalwart representative of the Philippines in the Southeast Asian Games, Asian Games, French Open, Australian Open, US Open and Wimbledon.
He holds a world doubles ranking of No. 162 and is No. 1 in the Philippine Tennis Association in men’s doubles rankings.