Eala siblings sizzle in Little Mo tennis

MANILA, Philippines — Filipino aces Alexandra and Miko Eala sizzled in the 2013 Little Mo International Tennis Grand Slam Championship held at the PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, recently.

Coming off impressive wins in the Colorado and New York legs of the  event, Alex again dominated her age group by winning the Florida final without dropping a game, scoring 6-0, 6-0, over all her opponents which included players from Turkey,  Serbia and the United States.

For her feat, the 8-year-old girl Alex was awarded a 6-foot trophy dubbed as the Junior World Tennis Trophy of the Century, the tallest trophy ever given in junior tennis.

“I really wanted this giant trophy and so I worked hard and I am happy I won it,” said Alex, a third grader at the Immaculate Conception Academy.

Alex started playing tennis at the age of 4 after seeing her brother play in competition. She also likes swimming, drawing and baking. Alex added she enjoyed the friendships she made with other players throughout the competitions held in Colorado, New York and Florida.

Miko also shone, winning the championship in the Colorado and New York legs and bagging the Florida runner-up trophy in the fiercely fought 11-under category for boys.

Miko’s respect for his opponents, coaches, referees and other officials  earned for him the competition’s Sportsmanship Award.

“I will continue to train hard and try competing even more with older boys so I can get better,” said Miko. “I will also eat more so I can grow taller and stronger.”

Miko is now in rigid training for the Orange Bowl competition for 12-year-old boys to be held in Miami in December and hopes to grow up playing like his idol, Spaniard Rafa Nadal.

The combined trophy haul of the siblings during the 2013 Little Mo International totaled 16 as they also competed in doubles and mixed doubles matches. Thus far, Miko and Alex’s have 76 and 27 trophies, respectively.