Eala relishes victory before hometown crowd

Sure there’s pressure playing on home turf but for 13-year-old Alex Eala, there’s a commensurate incentive as well.

“There’s always pressure every time I play in tournaments, but here I felt very happy because my family are there to watch me,” Eala said right after capturing the Phinma-PSC International Junior Tennis Championships girls’ singles title on Sunday.

For her, winning a tournament—her second International Tennis Federation (ITF) juniors this year—in her hometown is an extra bonus.

“I’ve been away for a long time, and it’s a different feeling winning a title here in the country,” added Eala, a full-time scholar at Rafael Nadal Academy (RNA) in Mallorca, Spain.

Displaying speed, power and cunning, Eala trounced past tormentor Dasha Plekhanova of Canada, 6-4, 6-2, to claim the championship.

It was also a revenge of sorts for her after she bowed to the 14-year-old Canadian in the Eddie Herr and Orange Bowl, two Grade A tournaments in the United States.

Eala will try for a back-to-back title starting Tuesday in Week 2 of the Grade 4 tournament sponsored by the Philippine Tennis Association, Philippine Sports Commission, Phinma and Tecnifibre.

She will then return to Spain where she is also enroled at American International School inside the RNA.

In the boys’ finals, Indian Mann Shah subdued third seed Fumiya Yoshino of Japan, 6-1, 7-6 (5).

Yoshino and Tom Evans of Australia annex the boys’ doubles title at the expense of Filipinos Arthur Craig Pantino and Justin Suarez.

Pantino, last year’s champion, bowed to Yoshino in the semifinals (2-6, 6-4, 6-3).

Indonesian Janice Tjen and Taiwanese Wang Chan-yi bested Kokomi Koyama and Erika Matsuda of Japan, 6-0, 7-6 (2), to rule the girls’ doubles.