Alcantara, pal book ITF semis berth

Francis Casey Alcantara and Chinese partner FaJin Sun got through to the semifinals after a thorough beating of a local pair late Wednesday in the $25,000 ITF Futures in Wuhan, China.

Alcantara and Sun, the top seeds, downed Ruikai Wang and Ruixuan Wang, 6-4, 6-2, to reach the semis even after the Filipino star had to deal with a series of unfortunate events upon arriving in China last Sunday.

They will take on third seeds Harri Heliovaara and Patrik Niklas-Salminen of Finland who ousted Yecong He of China and Cheong-Eul Kim, 7-4, 6-0.

The 26-year-old Alcantara’s luggage was delayed for two days following his transfer from Manila via Hong Kong.

Fortunately, according to him, his rackets and other equipment were with him in the cabin as hand-carry baggage, allowing him to get down to training right away.

Upon reaching Wuhan, the cab driver charged 350 yuan (or roughly P2,850) for a 30-minute ride.

“But everything is well now, I just focused on the things at hand and looking forward to winning our semifinal match,” said the Peugeot-backed Alcantara.

“I hope to get good results here and hopefully gain enough points to finally play with the big boys in the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals),” added Alcantara, who will play two more IT Futures meets in China.