PH star Treat Huey & partner clinch first runner-up in ATP Challenger

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Philippine men’s lawn tennis staple star Treat Huey and Danish partner Frederik Nielsen of Denmark weren’t able to secure the championship trophy and ended up as first runner-ups in the recently concluded Charlottesville Men’s Pro Challenger in Virginia, USA.

Huey and Nielsen lost against the explosive duo of Max Schnur and William Blumberg, 6-3, 1-6, 12-14, during the grand finals of the $52,080 ATP Challenger event.

The younger American pair took the thrilling tiebreaking set in the third and closed in the distance whenever Huey and Nielsen attempted for lobs in the backline.

It was a disappointing third set for Huey and Nielsen as they were already rewarded with three match points to end the show but the resiliency of the Americans was in full display, refusing to let the championship slip away from their hands.

Huey and Nielsen looked to control the match as early as the first set as the duo took a quick lead over the Americans, 6-3, but eventually fell in straight sets.

The Filipino-Danish pairing will have a shot at redemption against the Americans as they will meet again in the Knoxville Challenger in Tennessee.

Aside from Huey, another PH tennis superstar Ruben Gonzales will also participate and will be partnering with Indonesian tennis star Christopher Rungkat.