Philippines' Treat Huey in action in this file photo. Mark Cristino, EPA.
Treat Huey of the Philippines and Denis Kudla of the United States powered through Germans Oscar Otte and Jan-Lennard Struff, 7-6(10), 3-6, 10-6, to become the doubles champions at the Arizona Tennis Classic of the ATP Challenger Tour on Sunday in the US.
During the trophy presentation, Huey highlighted the “unbelievable week for Denis," who took the singles title earlier in the day with a 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 win over Daniel Altmaier of Germany.
“Thanks to all the fans that came out. It's always great to have some fans here for doubles. And it was a great match tonight," continued Huey, the ATP Doubles No. 153 with a career high of No. 18 in 2016.
He has eight ATP doubles titles, and his best men's doubles result in a grand slam was at the 2016 Wimbledon where he and Max Mirnyi of Belarus reached the semifinals.
The 36-year-old Filipino-American then praised Otte and Struff, adding that the Phoenix Challenger doubles final could have gone either way.
The final at the Phoenix Country Club Center Court saw both teams holding serve until 4-4.
The Germans broke in the next game, and the Filipino and American broke back to level at 5-5.
The teams held serve to force a tiebreak, which was neck-and-neck until Otte and Struff had a mini break to lead at 5-4.
Huey and Kudla saved two set points to equalize at 6-6, then both teams proceeded to hold serve until they were at 10-10.
Another service hold from Huey and Kudla gave them an 11-10 lead, and they broke serve to take the first set, 12-10, following a long forehand from Otte and Struff.
The Germans bounced back in the second set, breaking serve in the 4th game to lead at 3-1.
The Filipino-American tandem held serve thereafter, but were unable to secure a break.
Otte and Struff easily took the second set, 6-3, to strut their way to a 10-point match tiebreak.
Both teams were focused and determined to take the title, holding serve until Huey and Kudla got a mini break, 4-2.
Otte and Struff managed to catch up with a break to trail at 4-5, but Huey and Kudla breezed with two more mini breaks to inch closer to victory at 9-5.
With Huey serving for the match at 9-6, a backhand volley from the Filipino-American caused a netted backhand from the Germans, allowing Huey and Kudla to claim the match, 10-6.
En route to the final, Huey and Kudla ousted Nicholas Monroe of the US and John-Patrick Smith of Australia, 6-2, 6-2, in the Round of 16.
They figured in deciders in their next matches, scoring an upset over No. 3 seeds Max Purcell of Australia and Andreas Mies of Germany, 6-1, 3-6, 10-6, in the quarterfinals and ousting Hans Hach of Mexico and Austin Krajicek of the US, 5-7, 7-5, 10-8, in the semifinals.
PH Davis Cuppers competing overseas
Huey and Kudla teamed up in February and had a quarterfinal finish at the Delray Beach Open, where they handed a walkover to top seeds Jean-Julien Roger of the Netherlands and Marcelo Arevalo of El Salvador.
In March, Huey and Matt Reid of Australia made it to the quarters of the Monterrey Challenger in Mexico, while in the Australian Open in January, Huey and Christopher Rungkat of Indonesia had a second round result.
Meanwhile, Huey's Davis Cup teammates Ruben Gonzales and Francis Casey Alcantara have also been competing in international tournaments as of late.
No. 3 seeds Gonzales and Nicolas Barrientos of Colombia lost in the semifinals to Argentines Renzo Olivo and Andrea Collarini, 4-6, 2-6, at the Concepcion 2 Challenger, which concluded on Sunday in Chile.
At the Santiago Challenger also in Chile, Gonzales and Barrientos were halted in the quarterfinals.
Gonzales had another quarterfinal finish in January at the Columbus Challenger with James Cerretani of the US, and in February, Gonzales and Luca Margaroli of Switzerland made it to the semifinals of the Cleveland Challenger.
In Egypt, No. 2 seeds Alcantara and Kelsey Stevenson of Canada reached the final of the M15 Sharm ElSheikh, falling short to Italians Francesco Vilardo and Samuel Vincent Ruggeri, 6-2, 5-7, 3-10.
Alcantara and Stevenson went on to compete in the second and third legs of the Egyptian Futures tournament, posting opening round finishes in both instances.
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