FRENCH TOAST
She had a really tough match and she fought really hard, both in doubles and singles so I couldn’t ask for a better partner this week
There is simply no denying what happened at Roland Garros over the weekend will forever hold a special place in Alex Eala’s heart.
Eala and Russian partner Oksana Selekhmeteva proved unstoppable in the girls doubles finals, sweeping past the eight-seed pair Russian Maria Bondarenko and Amarissa Kiara Toth of Hungary, 6-0, 7-5, for the French Open crown.
The 16-year old Eala and the 18-year old Selekhmeteva swept all five games en route to winning the title in style.
This is the duo’s first title in the girls doubles tournament as they have both won with different partners.
Eala won with Priska Nugroho of Indonesia at the 2020 Australian Open while Selekhmeteva won her title with Kamilla Bartone of Latvia in the 2019 US Open.
Fittingly enough, the 16-year old scholar of the Rafael Nadal Academy won the title on the country’s 123rd Independence Day, capping off a momentous week that saw Filipino-Japanese golfer Yuka Saso win the US Women’s Open and weightlifter Erleen Ando qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.
“I want to say thank you to my partner. She had a really tough match and she fought really hard, both in doubles and singles so I couldn’t ask for a better partner this week,” Eala said in her speech after winning the title.
“At sa lahat ng Pinoy na nanonood, maraming salamat sa suporta (To all the Filipinos who watched, thank you very much). It’s actually Independence Day today so I hope I made my contribution to the country.”
Last month, the Filipino-Russian duo lost in the women’s doubles finals of the W25 Platja D’Aro against Justina Mikulskyte of Lithuania and Oana Georgeta Simion of Romania, 3-6, 5-7.
But in Paris, Eala and Selekhmeteva simply will not be denied another title.
The world No. 3 and world No. 10 ranked girls imposed their dominance inside the court, winning the first set in 20 minutes.
The second set, however, proved to be a different story as Bondarenko and Toth tied the set at 5-5, testing the mettle of Eala and Selekhmeteva.
With the title well within reach, Eala and Selekhmeteva won the last two games, capped off by a drop shot from the Russian, to claim their first doubles title together.