FILIPINA tennis sensation Alex Eala recovered from a lopsided opening set loss to move on to the finals of W25 Aldershot in Great Britain Saturday.
Alex Eala W25 Aldershot semifinals recap
Eala, the third seed in the tournament, outlasted home bet Katy Dunne, 1-6, 7-6(4), 6-3, in the semifinals.
The 18-year-old recovered after a sluggish start against the English tennister, where Dunne blanked Eala in the first three games for a 3-0 lead.
While an errant service game from Dunne put the Filipina on the board in Game 4, it was all Dunne as she dominated in half an hour for a convincing 6-1 victory.
But Eala dug deep to come out victorious in a back-and-forth Set 2 which reached a tiebreak.
The Rafa Nadal Academy scholar zoomed to a 5-2 lead in the deciding tiebreak and forced a third set.
Early in the third, Eala and Dunne remained neck-and-neck, as they were tied, 2-all.
Eala, though, shifted momentum on her side as she clawed back from a 0-40 hole in Game 5, surviving a breakpoint for the 3-2 advantage.
She then followed it up with back-to-back game wins to seize control, 5-2.
Though the home bet was able to pull a game back as she held her serve in Game 8, Eala was able to finish her off and punch her ticket to the final.
She faces Aussie hitter Destanee Aiava in the championship match.
Eala is gunning for her fifth pro singles title overall and the third in just as many months.
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