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German pair foils Alcantara, Irish teammate’s finals bid in Italian Open


Francis Casey Alcantara’s bid for a second finals appearance this year ended as he and doubles partner James Morrissey of Ireland suffered a 6-4, 6-2 defeat from the fourth-seeded German pair of Peter Heller and Kevin Krawietz in the semifinals of the 51st Trofeo Bonfiglio in Milan, Italy. Alcantara and Morrissey, the only unseeded pair in the semifinals, fought gallantly but failed to match the Germans’ solid game to bow out in the International Tennis Federation-organized Grade A event. The 18-year-old Cagayan de Oro netter is hoping to enter his second doubles finals this year after his team-up with Filipino-American Raymund Sarmiento resulted to a title in the Mitsubishi Lancer International Tennis Championships, an ITF Grade I event, last March. Despite the loss, Alcantara is expected to earn ITF points that could improve his current ranking at 53rd place. In barging into the semifinals, Alcantara and Morrissey defeated American eight seeds Nick Chappell and Dane Webb, 6-1, 7-5; Austrian pair Sebastian Stiefelmeyer and Dominic Thiem, 6-3, 7-6 (5); and Italy’s Marco Cecchinato and Giammarco Micolani, Alcantara, 6-4, 6-2. Heller and Krawietz will face fifth seeds Duilio Beretta of Peru and Roberto Quiroz in the finals after the duo defeated Russian Richard Muzaev and American Dennis Nivikov, 6-4, 7-6(6) in the other semis game. – JVP, GMANews.TV

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