Alcantara, Gonzales reunite

National team members Francis Casey Alcantara and Reuben Gonzales aim for a strong start when they see action in the first leg of the ITF M25 Naples Meet in Florida on Wednesday.

The Filipino duo is tipped to have a tough time as they face the third-seeded pair of Israel Ore of United States and Alejandro Gomez of Columbia in its first battle since winning medals in the 30th Southeast Asian Games in Manila in 2019.

We are very excited that we’re now finally back for a competition after almost a year of playing.

Alcantara, a champion in the juniors doubles event of the Australian Open in 2009, plucked the gold with Jeson Patrombon as partner while Gonzales connived with Filipino-American Treat Huey to settle for the silver in the men’s doubles event of the biennial meet.

But their last doubles match was in March of last year when they faced a very powerful Greek team bannered by world No. 6 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Davis Cup playoff tie at the Philippine Columbian Association.

Despite the very long hiatus, Alcantara said that they are very excited to see action and compete in the international stage once anew.

“We are very excited that we’re now finally back for a competition after almost a year of playing,” Alcantara said.

“We’re slowly getting back and hopefully we can play well here. This will be our first tournament, and if we do well, then it will be a great start for us.”

The 29-year-old Alcantara added that they would be coming in with no pressure despite being ranged against more seasoned foes.

“There is no pressure for us, we just need to do our best and we can still bounce back. But of course, our main goal is to win this match,” he said.

Alcantara and Gonzales are also set to compete in the second leg of the tournament that is set from 22 to 28 February.