RP jr netters shift focus to Wimbledon doubles

Filipino junior netters Jeson Patrombon and Francis Casey Alcantara shift their focus to the doubles event in the Wimbledon Juniors Championship after losing in their respective singles bids. Patrombon suffered a first round exit with a 6-1, 7-5 loss to Mitchell Frank of the USA while Alcantara reached the second round only to lose against Argentina's Facundo Arguello, 6-4, 1-6, 4-6 at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London. The 96th ranked Arguello, who came out with more energy in the last two sets, capitalized on Alcantara's 32 unforced errors in completing the come-from-behind win. The 18-year-old Alcantara, 57th in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) rankings, is fresh from a marathon 6-1, 1-6, 11-9 first round victory over French qualifier Gregoire Barrere. The unranked Arguello earned a second round meeting with Alcantara after pulling off a 6-2, 0-6, 6-3 upset win over 15th seed Roberto Quiroz. He will next face Slovakian Filip Horansky who eliminated Latvian qualifier Mikelis Libietis, 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-3. Alcantara, who is playing in his final year in the junior circuit, now aims for a better finish in the boys' doubles with British partner Oliver Golding. The unranked pair will be up against No. 3 seeds Dennis Kudla and Raymond Sarmiento of the USA. Sarmiento, a Filipino-American who teamed up with Alcantara when they won the doubles crown in the 21st Mitsubishi Lancer International Tennis Championship, is also hoping to bounce back after being eliminated in the boys' singles. Sarmiento, ranked 29th by the ITF, suffered a 6-3, 7-5 loss to eight seed James Duckworth of Australia. Patrombon, the country's top junior player, will be teaming up with Tunisia's Ahmed Triki in the doubles where they will face the No. 2 pair of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Damir Dzumhur and Croatia's Mate Pavic. – JVP, GMANews.TV