Eala books twin victories in Spain
ALEX EALA came up with a stellar performance in Spain by seizing the singles crown on Sunday without dropping a set and completing a double celebration in the Vitoria- Gasteiz tournament at Pena Vitoriana Tenis Club in Spain.
Seeded fifth in the International Tennis Federation W100 tournament with a No. 162 ranking in the Women’s Tennis Association ( WTA), Eala proved too much for seventh seed Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva ( WTA No. 247) in the singles final, 6- 4, 6- 4, on Sunday.
The 19- year- old Eala teamed up with France’s Estelle Cascino to win the doubles crown, beating Bulgaria’s Lia Karatancheva and Latvia’s Diana Marcinkevica in the final, 6-3, 2- 6, 104, on Saturday.
“I am so proud because this represents the culmination of so much hard work,” Eala said in a social media post.
“Securing my biggest titles yet in both singles and doubles is a fairytale finish, and I’m overwhelmed with emotion. is will always have a special place in my heart, and I leave here with a pocket full of great memories and the will to work harder.”
Eala opened with a 6- 4, 6-2 rout of Lian Tran of the Netherlands, notched a 7- 5, 7- 5 win over Spain’s Lucia Cortez Llorca before eliminating fourth seed Yuliia Starodubtseva of Ukraine, 7- 6 (4), 6- 4.
e Filipina then stopped Mexico’s Maria Jose Portillo Ramirez, 6-2, 6-1.
Kasintseva also scored straightsets wins in the first and second rounds before stunning No. 3 seed Linda Fruhvirtova of the Czech Republic, 6-2, 2- 6, 6- 4, quarterfinals and second seed Jessika Ponchet of France, 6-2, 6-2 in the semifinals.