INQUIRER Sports

MANILA, Philippines - The Wimbledon bid of the country's only Grand Slam champion came to an end on Tuesday night (Wednesday in Manila).

Francis Casey Alcantara and new partner Nikala Scholtz of South Africa absorbed a 6-4,6-4 loss to the fourth-ranked American pair of Evan King and Denis Kudla in the first round of the boys’ doubles competition.

The setback ended the Cagayan de Oro native’s stint at the famous England grasscourt event.

He also took an early exit in the boys’ singles with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 loss to Austria’s Maximilian Neuchrist on Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

Alcantara’s bid for a second Grand Slam remained elusive since his historic victory in the Australian Open with partner Hsieh Cheng-Peng of Chinese Taipei last January.

With Hsieh, the 17-year-old Alcantara also bagged the doubles crown in the 45th Astrid Bowl Charleloi, Belgian International Junior Championships in Belgium. The pair recently reached the second round of the French Open and the Wimbledon tune-up tournament AEGON International Junior Tennis Championships-Roehampton.

Hsieh and compatriot Huang Liang-chi are favored as the No. 2 ranked pair when they take on American Mitchell Frank and India’s Sudarwa Sitaram.

The 17-year-old Alcantara has five doubles titles this year, including wins with reigning French Open boys’ singles champion Daniel Berta of Sweden in the 13th Sarawak Chief Minister’s Cup-ITF World Junior Tennis Championships in Malaysia and the 20th Mitsubishi Lancer International Junior Championships in Manila.