Alcantara makes up for singles flop with breakthrough doubles win

MANILA, Philippines – After failing to live up to expectations in the singles play, top Filipino bet Francis Casey Alcantara, with the help of Swedish doubles partner Daniel Berta, notched the very first title for a local boy in the 20th Mitsubishi Lancer International Tennis Championships. Alcantara and Berta stamped their class on Ben and Niki Mclachlan of New Zealand, 6-3, 6-0, to rule the boys’ double division Saturday at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center. The victory made Alcantara the first Filipino to win a title since the tournament started 20 years ago, and somewhat soothed the bruised ego of the netter from Cagayan de Oro City, who stumbled in the third round of the singles competitions. “I really had hoped to win this title after what happened in the singles. Luckily, me and Berta know each other’s style well and didn’t have the problem adjusting to one another," said Alcantara. It was the third doubles title this year for the 17-year-old Alcantara, counting victories in the prestigious Australian Open Juniors doubles with Hsieh Cheng-peng of Chinese Taipei and the 13th Sarawak Chief Minister Cup-ITF Junior Championships also with Berta. Berta completed a dominating performance in his first tournament in the Philippines as he also annexed the boy’s singles title with a 6-3, 6-4, decision over Riki Mclachlan on Sunday. Seeded sixth in the tournament based on his ITF ranking of 65th and responsible for ousting top seed Liang-Chi Huang in the quarterfinals, Berta showed determination as he clawed back from a 0-2 and 1-3 deficits in the second set. He won five of the last six games disputed and highlighted his comeback by firing six aces and breaking Mclachlan’s twice in the sixth and tenth game. “It was real fun to play here. My goal was to win and I played good all week and I’m very much satisfied," said Berta who became the first Swedish netter ever to win the title in this Grade I tournament. It was also Berta’s first singles title in two years and he joined US bet David Martin and Chinese Taipei’s Hsin Han Lee as the only players who won the singles and doubles title in the tournament on the same year. Martin did the trick in 1999 as he paired with his brother Chris while Lee joined hands with compatriot Hsien Yin Peng in 2006. Berta and Alcantara move to different directions after the weeklong tournament with the former going back home for a rest before resuming his campaign in Europe by May while the Filipino is flying to Nagoya, Japan to compete in the Japan Open Junior Championship from March 31 to April 5. “I think I’ll be ranked second again in Japan and hopefully I can finally win a singles title in that tournament," added Alcantara. –GMANews.TV