By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Francis Casey Alcantara and former juniors partner Hsieh Cheng Peng turned back the clock several times before settling for the runner-up honors in the M15 Wuning tournament in China recently.
The Filipino-Taiwanese tandem lost to Australia’s Max Purcell and China’z Zhao Zhao, 6-7 (6), 6-3, 10-5.
Despite the loss, the reunion marked a nostalgic run for the former partners, who teamed up and captured the 2009 Australian Open Boys Doubles crown.
“First time playing together after 17 years,” wrote the 34-year-old Alcantara on social media, sharing a side-by-side photo of the pair during their Australian Open juniors campaign and another from the M15 Wuning awarding ceremony.
“Same love for the game, just longer warm-ups now. Til the next one,” he added.
Seeded second in this International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournament, Alcantara and Hsieh first edged local bets Chen Ye and Wang Yukun, 3-6, 6-3, 10-4, and followed it up with a quick 6-1, 6-2 rout of another Chinese duo Luo Jun Hao and Zhu Shixun.
They needed an extra set in overcoming Koreans Jeong Yeongseok and Kim Dong Ju, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 10-5, before yielding to Purcell and Zhao.
Alcantara is scheduled to compete in the next leg of the same tournament with another Taiwanese partner Chin Kuan Lai this week, where they are scheduled to face Great Britain’s Viktor Frydrych and Andrei Kunitsyn in the opening round.
