Photo from Alex Eala’s Facebook
MANILA, Philippines—Alex Eala advanced to the ITF W25 Aldershot Finals after prevailing over home bet Katy Dunne, 1-6, 7-6, 6-3, in the semifinal on Saturday (Manila time).
Eala rallied from 3-5 down in the second set to stun the more experienced Dunne and set up a finals match against Australia’s Destanee Aiava later at 5:30 p.m.
The tournament’s third seed then went on to take four sets compared to Dunne’s one, including the tiebreak to tie the game at one frame a piece, 7-6.
Eala mounted another comeback in the third set where she trailed 0-2.
The 18-year-old Filipino tennis star stayed composed until the end, finishing the match with an ace.
Eala’s road to the final also saw her brush off the United States’ Jenna Defalco in the quarterfinal, 6-1, 6-2, on Friday.
Aiava defeated Georgia’s Mariam Bolvadze, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, in the semis matchup.
Eala is gunning for her fifth overall International Tennis Federation (ITF) title and third this year after ruling the W25 Roehampton in London a week ago and the W25 Yecla last June.