Scoring aces: Alcantara, RP netters gain in 2009

The future of Philippine tennis – Francis Casey Alcantara – showed his powerful potential by winning the hardware in a Grand Slam event and the current top netter – Cecil Mamiit – continued to carry the country to glory in major international competitions. With these, the Filipino netters scored a number of aces in 2009.

Fondly called "Niño" by his friends, Alcantara started the year right by posting a historic triumph in the boys’ doubles event of the Australian Open Junior Championships in Melbourne, Australia. Partnering with Taiwanese Hsieh Cheng Peng, the then 16-year-old Alcantara edged out Russian Mikhail Biryukov and Japanese Yasutaka Uchiyama for the title, 6-4, 6-2, making the CagayanDde Oro pride the first Filipino Grand Slam winner. Alcantara surpassed the feat of Felix Barrientos, who made it to the semifinals of the Wimbledon juniors netfest in 1985, the same year he reached the No. 1 spot in the world juniors circuit rankings. The tennis wunderkind reached as high as No. 14 in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Junior rankings in March this year but fell to 53rd as of Dec. 21. In addition to the Aussie Open plum, Alcantara also won the boys’ doubles crowns of the 13th Sarawak Chief Minister’s Cup-ITF World Junior Tennis Championships in Malaysia; the 20th Mitsubishi Lancer International Juniors Championships in Manila; the 45th Astrid Bowl Chanderloi-Belgian International Juniors Championships in Belgium; and the 17th International Junior Tournament of Offenbach/Main in Germany. He capped a highly-productive year by sweeping the boys’ singles titles of the Phinma International Juniors Tournament Week 1 and Week 2 in Manila. Alcantara also made his debut in the Davis Cup Asia Oceania Zone Group II competitions this year, contributing to the Mamiit-led RP netters’ 4-1 dismantling of Hong Kong on hostile ground in the first round. The RP Cuppers later beat Pakistan in the semifinal round, 3-2, and New Zealand in the finals, 4-1, to get a spot back at Group I in 2010. The Filipinos face Japan in the first round, hoping to boost their chances for a slot in the World Group Playoffs that awaits winners in Group I. Fil-Am Mamiit, who first made a name for himself with upset wins over Andre Agassi and Michael Chang in the 1999 San Jose ATP meet, continued to take the cudgels for the RP Cuppers, sweeping all his seven assignments this year. Another Fil-Am, Treat Conrad Huey, gave Mamiit an able helping hand, winning all but one of his six games in the 2008 DC. The duo also bannered the Philippines’ 2-3-5 gold-silver-bronze harvest in the 25th Southeast Asian Games in Laos. Mamiit and Huey led the contingent to the men’s team gold, figured in an all-Filipino battle for the men’s singles gold then secured a silver medal in the men’s doubles. These feats may not be as smashing as those of Roger and Rafa’s but Filipino netters indeed had one productive year in 2009. – Olmin Leyba, GMANews.TV