IT’S a third ITF doubles title for Philippine tennis sensation Alex Eala, as she and French partner Estelle Cascino completed a clean sweep of the W100 Vitoria-Gasteiz in Spain, winning the final in three sets on Saturday night.
Eala and Cascino drubbed foes Lia Karatancheva and Diana Marcinkevica, 6-3, 2-6, 10-4, after regaining their bearings in Set 3 even as they squandered their 1-0 lead from the opening set.
Karatancheva and Marcinkevica pounced on Eala and her partner early in the second canto, as they nabbed a 4-1 lead. Though the Filipino-French duo was able to pull one back, their foes were able to take back-to-back game wins to force the third set decider.
Then in the third set, Eala and Cascino zoomed to an early 8-1 start and never looked back.
One more crown up for grabs for Alex
The Philippines' pride has a golden opportunity for a double crown in Spain after barging into the final of the women’s singles tournament as well.
Before winning the championship in doubles, Eala first drubbed Maria Jose Portillo Ramirez in the singles semifinals, 6-2, 6-1.
The 19-year-old quickly eliminated her foe in a match that lasted only 65 minutes.
She set up a clash against Andorra’s Victoria Jimenez Kasinteva whom she has never faced in singles before.
Eala is World No. 155 while her foe is at No. 231. However, Jimenez Kasinteva’s career-high is better than Eala when she was World No. 121 back in late 2022.
READ: Alex Eala rises to career-high WTA ranking, reaches Vitoria-Gasteiz quarters
Jimenez Kasinteva has four titles and four runner-up finishes in eight ITF singles finals.
Eala, for her part, is seeking her fifth title in her eighth finals appearance in an ITF singles tournament.
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