Huey, African partner fail to advance

Treat Huey and South African partner Izak Van der Merwe dropped a close 7-5, 7-6 (7-4) decision to their seeded foes in the first round of men’s doubles Thursday night in Wimbledon.

The 25-year-old Filipino Davis Cup campaigner and Merwe made the main draw through the qualifying round but faced 11th seeds Wesley Moodie of South Africa and Dick Norman of Belgium in Court 8 of the All England Lawn Tennis Club.

Prior to the grandslam outing, Huey and Merwe finished runner-up in the Nottingham Challenger, a Wimbledon tune-up events on grass, after they lost to Rik de Voest of South Africa and Adil Shamasdin of Canada, 6-3, 7-6 (11-9).

Another Filipino, Jeson Patrombon, is slated to begin his juniors singles campaign on Sunday. He will also see action in doubles in tandem with Jaden Grinter of New Zealand.

Patrombon, named to the Davis Cup pool for the tie against New Zealand early next month, bowed in the first round of the Aegon junior internationals in Roehampton.

Playing the first round match without having to practice on grasscourts due to inclement weather in England, the 18-year-old Patrombon yielded to Evgeny Karlovsky of Russia, 7-5, 7-5.

Cecil Mamiit, the country’s playing team captain in Davis Cup, is also in Wimbledon as part of Maria Sharapova’s entourage. Sharapova is set to play Laura Robson of Great Britain in the second round.