Indonesian ace ends stirring tennis run of phenom Eala

Top seed Janice Tjen of Indonesia ended the dominant run of Filipino star Alex Eala Sunday to claim the girls singles title of the Phinma-PSC International Junior Tennis Championships at Manila Polo Club.

Imposing her experience to the hilt against the 13-year-old Eala, Tjen hacked out a hard-fought 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 triumph to annex the title, her second for the year after her ITF Grade 3 crown in Sarawak Cup in Indonesia.

Eala, who won the Week 1 title, did not yield a single set all week except in the final match.

Philta president Antonio Cablitas was all praises for the staunch showing of the Filipino campaigners, especially that of Eala, who also reached the semifinals of Week 2 doubles.

“We are very proud of Alex, she has a very bright future ahead of her,” said Cablitas. “This ITF event is part of our commitment to serve Philippine tennis through international tournaments.”

Hungarian Zsombor Velcz crushed fourth seed Kokoro Isomura of Japan, 6-1, 6-2, to capture the boys singles title.

Eala will climb the world rankings after her champion- runner-up finishes in the two-week Grade 4 meet. She is now ranked 298th from 447th.

Eala is flying back to Mallorca, Spain, to resume her training and studies at Rafael Nadal Academy.