SINGLES winner Mikhail Youzhny pumps his fist after converting championship point. LEO SABANGAN
SCANDINAVIANS Frederik Nielsen and Johan Brunstrom demolished Filipino Francis Casey Alcantara and Indonesian partner Christopher Rungkat, 6-2, 6-2, last night to win the men’s doubles of the ATP Challenger Philippine Open.
Both standing at 6-foot-3, Nielsen from Denmark and Brunstrom from Sweden covered the court with authority and muscled their way past Alcantara and Rungkat before a big crowd at Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.
In the singles final, second-seed Mikhail Youzhny of Russia stopped giant-killer Marco Chiudinelli of Switzerland, 6-4, 6-4, to clinch the crown.
The 33-year-old former world No. 8 Youzhny, now currently 84th, pocketed the $10,800 champion’s purse as he sustained his Challenger victory run to four. He won twice in Bangkok early this month and the Eckental tournament in Germany last November.
Nielsen, who won the Wimbledon doubles in 2012, and Brunstrom, champion of the Bangkok Challenger last week, worked behind a serve-and-volley strategy to destroy the Southeast Asians.
“We kind of set the tone from the first game, got the break right away,” said Brunstrom. “It has been very good match.”
Nielsen said: “We had very very good serves today and that helped in doubles. It gave us a real foundation.”
The second seeds split the $4,560 top purse.
Alcantara and Rungkat who toppled No. 1 picks Ilja Bojoljac of Serbia and Andreas Siljestrom in the first round, 4-6, 7-6 (12-10), 10-7, in the first round, settled for $2,700.
“We got outplayed,” said Rungkat. “It’s good to have such a big Challenger in this region.”
Chiudinelli, Roger Federer’s teammate in the Davis Cup champion team of 2014, found no answer to Youzhny’s steady shots during long rallies under the sweltering afternoon heat.