Filipino, American partner, rule doubles tennis tourney in Germany
Filipino, American partner, rule doubles tennis tourney in Germany
DAVAO CITY---The victory of Treat Huey and his American partner Max Schnur in the €45,730 ATP Challenger at the Hamburger Tennis Verband in Hamburg, Germany, gave the Filipino men's doubles star a significant boost in his ascent back to the tennis elite.

In the men's doubles finals on Saturday, hometown underdogs Dustin Brown and Julian Lenz presented the top-seeded Huey and Schnur with their toughest competition of the entire tournament.

The 2011 US Open boys' doubles champion, Lenz, and seasoned German-Jamaican Brown were defeated by Huey and Schnur 7-6 (8-6), 6-4.

Huey and Schnur did not lose a set during the competition, but they had to put in an extra effort to defeat a formidable rival pair in the championship match because they did not want to let the home crowd down.

Until the tiebreak, the servers had the upper hand in the opening set. 

Huey and Schnur found themselves down 3-6 and in danger of dropping a set for the first time all week. 

They not only avoided three break opportunities, but they also won the following five points to take the opening set.

The second set turned out to be another close contest, but Huey and Schnur once more scored at critical times, breaking Brown's serve in the seventh game to take the lead 4-3.

In the tenth game, Brown and Lenz still managed to give themselves a chance by fending off two match points to advance to the receiver's choice with an opportunity to tie the score at five. 

Huey, though, would have none of it and won the doubles match with an ace to claim his third ATP Challenger tour victory of the year.

Huey, who just won the men's doubles gold at the SEA Games in Vietnam, is 37 years old. 

In 2016, after making the semifinals of Wimbledon and the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, he attained a career-high ranking of 18th in the world. 

His free fall in the global rankings was caused by a string of injuries in recent years. 

He is currently back at 100 in the world rankings, and this title win may help him advance even further.(Romeo Braceros Jr.)

Photo: Treat Huey
A veteran journalist and sportswriter.

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