PH NETTER BAGS TITLE IN FRANCE
She’s being considered as the future of Philippine tennis, and rightly so.
Alexandra Eala made the country proud by winning the girls’ crown in the 36th Les Petits As Mondial Lacoste junior tennis championships in Tarbes, France over the weekend.
The 12-year-old Eala, a wildcard entry in the 14-under tournament, stunned seventh seed Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic, 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (5), to complete a glorious week as she won her first international title this year.
Her showdown with Noskova was a dogfight.
Like in her stunning upset win over Russian top seed Diana Shnaider, the Czech produced some brilliant strokes but Eala proved steadier and more determined in their title clash to the delight of the crowd.
The Filipino bet was so dominant she dropped only two sets as she beat fellow wildcard entry Meline Chaumeil of France, 7-6 (4), 6-4; Joelle Steur of Germany, 6-1, 6-7 (4), 6-3; qualifier Sofia Costoulas of Belgium; Kyoka Kubo of Japan, 7-5, 6-1; and 13th seed Katerina Dimitrova of Bulgaria, 6-1, 6-3.
Eala, however, failed to make it a double celebration when she and Belgian partner Sofia Costoulas lost to fellow wildcard pair Robin Montgomery and Katrina Scott of the United States, 6-4, 6-3.
Eala and Costoulas won the opening set after eighth seed Matilda Mutavdzic of Great Britain and Hanne Vanderwinkel of Belgium retired, 2-1, and then edged France’s Nahia Berecoechea and Finland’s Laura Hietaranta, 7-5, 6-4.
Eala was part of last year’s Tennis Europe Junior Tour Doubled Team of the Year with Indian partner Priska Nughoho after winning five doubles titles and going unbeaten in 21 matches throughout the entire summer tour of Europe.