Gonzales, Alcantara drop q’final matches vs higher-ranked rivals

RUBEN Gonzales. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Filipino aces Ruben Gonzales and Francis Casey Alcantara made dramatic inroads into the draw but ran into powerful rivals in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open 2017 Asia Pacific WildCard Playoffs in Zhuhai, China.

Gonzales fought tough against second seed and World No. 143 Lee Duck-hee of South Korea before yielding a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 decision yesterday.

Earlier, Alcantara bowed to fifth seed and World No. 291 Prajesh Gunneswaran of India, 6-4, 6-1.

It was still an impressive run for the Filipinos, who also made the quarterfinals of the men’s doubles, but eventually lost to top seeds Li Zhe and Yi ChuHuan of China, 6-1, 6-3.

The meet gathered the top players in the region battling for just one wild card entry in next year’s Grand Slam in Melbourne.

National coach Karl Santamaria said the tourney was a tuneup for the February Davis Cup tie against Indonesia to be held in Manila.

The 24-year-old Alcantara advanced to the quarterfinals after a stunning 7-6 (2), 6-4 upset of fourth-seeded Chinese Li in the second round.

Gonzales, 32, likewise progressed after upsetting sixth seed Kwon Soon-woo of South Korea, 6-3, 6-4.