CAGAYAN de Oro’s ace netter Francis Casey Alcantara and his Indian partner Karunuday Singh barged their way into the final of the US$ 15,000 F1 Hong Kong Futures Men’s Doubles tennis tournament on Friday, June 23, in Hong Kong.
Seed no. 2 Alcantara and Singh defeated their different foes in the first round to the semi-final without giving up a set to book a showdown against Japanese pair of Tomohiro Masabayashi and Yuki Mochizuki in the final.
On their way, Alcantara and Singh defeated the duo of Alester Magalit of host Hong Kong and Alcantara’s Oro compatriot Dave Sebatian Mosqueda, 6-3 and 6-3, in the first round.
They also defeated Japan’s Yutaro Matsuzaki and Masato Shiga, 6-4 and 6-3, in the quarterfinals.
Then, Alcantara and Singh won their final match easily 6-1 and 6-1 against Yecong He of China and Paklong Yeung of host Hong Kong in the semi-final.
Alcantara will try to duplicate what he and his former Dutch partner Sem Verbeek did in winning three straight Futures crowns in the F1, F2, and F3 Futures men’s doubles tournament in Singapore, recently.
Alcantara and Verbeek have won over Japanese foes blocking their way in the previous tournament. Alcantara and Singh are highly favored against Masabayashi and Mochizuki if they continue to blend well.
“Sulayan nato nga ma-duplicate nato, but no promises,” (I will try to duplicate my previous win but I won’t promise anything.) said Alcantara.
