Eala, partner keep doubles run going
THE doubles team of Alex Eala of the Philippines and Oksana Selekhmeteva of Russia is on a roll.
On Friday, Eala and Selekhmeteva continued their amazing run, defeating the Netherlands’ Isabelle Haverlag and Suzan Lamens, 6-3, 6-1, to reach the doubles final of the $25,000 Platja D’Aro tournament in Spain.
With the victory, Eala and her partner arranged a title showdown with Oana Georgeta Simion of Romania and Ustina Mikuiskyte of Lithuania, who beat Spaniards Jessica Bouzas Maneiro and Claudia Hoste Ferrer 6-0,6-2, in the other semifinal round match.
This is Eala’s first doubles tournament since turning pro and her first finals appearance since winning the Australian Open junior girls’ doubles championship in 2020 in partnership with an Indonesian.
Eala abd Selekhmeteva will plunge into action aware they’ll be dealing with rivals who no strangers to winning. Per record, Simion and Mikulskyte each has multiple professional and juniors doubles titles.
Their semifinal round encounter was a breeze for Eala, 15, and Selekhmeteva, 18, who needed only 53 minutes to dispose of their rivals and gain the championship. It featured the no-advantage scoring method for games at deuce, also called “sudden death” with the receiver’s choice.
The Dutch duo opened the match with a 2-0 lead, and the Filipino and Russian quickly caught up at 2-2. With a backhand down the line winner from Eala, she and Selekhmeteva took the lead at 3-2. After holding serve to get to 5-3, Eala and Selekhmeteva broke to secure the first set, 6-3.
The Filipino-Russian tandem became more aggressive in the next set, preventing their opponents from getting on the scoreboard in the first five games.
A volley down the T from Eala nailed a comfortable 5-0 lead, to which the Dutch pair replied with a hold of serve. At match point, Eala let out a forceful backhand that was netted by the opponent, closing out the set, 6-1, in favor of the Filipino and Russian.
