Photo from Alex Eala’s Facebook
MANILA, Philippines—Alex Eala withstood No. 3 seed Arianne Hartono of the Netherlands to prevail in a grueling match with a 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-1 victory to enter the W25 Roehampton final on Saturday in Great Britain.
A lackluster second-set loss including an interrupted play due to the gloomy weather couldn’t stop the 18-year-old Eala as she got her act together in the deciding third set to eliminate Hartono in the two-hour and 32-minute semifinal and make her second championship match appearance this year.
Eala, who is currently Women’s Tennis Association No. 250, battles second seed and world No. 166 Arina Rodionova of Australia on Sunday evening.
Rodionova took down fourth seed home bet Yuriko Lily Miyazaki, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, in their semis duel.
“So excited to be in my second final of the year and first-ever final here in London!” posted Eala on Facebook.
The 27-year-old Dutch kept her momentum in the second set with a 4-1 start amid the suspended play to force a decider, bouncing back from the opening frame, where she blew a 4-2 lead in the extension due to her errors.
But the No.6 seed Filipino came out firing in the decider pulling away from a slim 2-1 lead by winning four straight games to earn a chance for her fourth International Tennis Federation crown.
Eala, the first Filipino to win a Grand Slam singles title, is eyeing her fourth pro crown after ruling the W25 Yecla in Spain this year and winning her first two championships in the W15 Manacor in 2021 and W25 Chiang Rai last year.
The Rafael Nadal Academy graduate started her campaign beating Australian netters in the first two rounds with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over qualifier Gabriella Da Silva Fick followed by a 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 conquest over her doubles partner, Destanee Aiava in the second round.
Eala stunned the No.1 seed Priscilla Hon, 6-2, 6-4, in the quarterfinal of the $25,000 tournament.