By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Filipina tennis sensation Alex Eala and partner Oksana Selekhmeteva of Russia survived the first round of the 2021 French Open juniors’ doubles.
The PH-Russian duo overcame the tough tennis displayed by Evialina Laskevich of Belarus and Alina Shcherbinina of Russia, 6-4, 6-4.
Adversity came early for Eala and Selekhmeteva after the duo dropped their service game early and went down 1-3 in the first set.
Laskevich and Shcherbinina looked to capitalize and went aggressive in the net but Eala found her rhythm in the baseline game and showed some life.
Selekhmeteva then joined the party and found her stroke in the net area which is her bread and butter in the doubles game.
It was a different story in the second set as Eala and Selekhmeteva went to an early 5-1 lead but the opposition fought with a valiant effort to put pressure with a 5-4 score.
Eala clinched the game after pulling off a spectacular drop shot that kissed the side of the net to help them reach the second round.
Unfortunately, Eala lost in the first round of her French Open juniors singles campaign against Great Britain’s Matilda Mutavdzic, 4-6, 7-6, 1-6 and is seeking to redeem herself in the doubles category.
