Alcantara goes easy amid tennis pressure
Francis Casey Alcantara, the country’s first grand slam champion, tension was never a problem whenever he was on a tennis court.
One example of his cool demeanor on court was when he competed at the Australian Open. “Wala akong kaba. Enjoy. Wala, tawa lang,” said Alcantara of his landmark grand slam experience.
It was in Melbourne where Alcantara made Philippine tennis history by winning the Australian Open Junior Boys’ Doubles championship alongside partner Cheng-Peng Hsieh of Chinese Taipei.
But he revealed that with the absence of nerves comes the upsurge of pressure. “Sobrang pressured, daming tao may alam, Everytime I play, may pressure,” he said.
“Pero mas maganda, maraming tennis enthusiasts. Sana mas marami pang sumunod pa,” noted Alcantara.
After his Australian Open victory with Hsieh in January, the 17-year-old Cagayan de Oro native racked two more doubles titles.
In March, he and Swede Daniel Berta won the doubles junior title in the Sarawak Chief Minister’s Cup in Malaysia. The same partnership nabbed the top plum in the Mitsubishi-Lancer Juniors Championships in Manila.
Alcantara was also a doubles runner-up in this year’s LTAT Junior Championships in Thailand. His most recent doubles outing was a quarterfinal finish at the Japan Open Junior Championships.
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