Filipino netters advance to Australian Open quarterfinals

Filipinos Francis Casey Alcantara and Ruben Gonzales downed separate rivals on Thursday to reach the quarterfinals of the 2017 Australian Open Asia-Pacific Wildcard Play-off tournament at the Zhuhai Hengqin International Tennis Center in Guangdong, China. 

Alcantara eliminated fourth seed Zhe Li of China, 7-6 (2), 6-4 to advance against fifth seed Prajnesh Gunneswaran of India.

Gunneswaran bounced back from a first-set loss to prevail over Chinese Xiao Gong, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.

Gonzales joined Alcantara in the next round after posting a 6-3, 6-4 victory over sixth seed Korean Soonwoo Kwon.

Gonzales will be up against second seed Korean Duckhee Lee, who struggled past Chinese Xi Qi, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1.

Meanwhile, top seed Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan cruised into the next round following a 6-2, 6-0 win Chinese Sun Fajing.

Istomin will next face Chinese Hao Wu, who was leading 1-0 when seventh seeded opponent and compatriot Xin Gao retired.

Third seed Chinese Di Wu stamped his class over Taiwanese Tsung-Hua Yang, 6-2, 6-3, to advance in the quarterfinals against No. 8 Indian N. Vijay Sundar Prashanth, a 7-6 (6), 6-0 winner over Chinese Zhao-Tai Li.

Top players from the Asia-Pacific region are competing in this tournament to earn a wild card in the main draw of next year’s Australian Open scheduled Jan. 16-29 in Melbourne. PNA