By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Filipina tennis star Alex Eala capped off her IV Araba World Tennis Tour Feminino campaign with a quarterfinal finish in the women’s doubles division.
After a stunning upset win against the second-seeded Indian pairing of Ankita Raina and Prarthana Thombare, Eala, together with her Spanish partner Marina Bassols Ribera, lost at the hands of Diana Marcinkevica and Estelle Cascino- 7.5, 1.6, 11.9- last July 20, 2023, held at the Peña Vitorian Tennis Club in Spain.
After almost two hours of thrilling volley exchanges at the jam-packed Vitorian Tennis Club, the duo of Marcinkevica and Cascino got the last laugh during the intense tiebreaker set.
It was a close nip-and-tuck affair soon as the third and final set began when both pairings answered every net score.
The opposition drew first blood after a smash off a failed lob from Ribera but Eala countered back with a powerful forehand that went past Cascino’s area.
Marcinkevica made it up after pulling off a drop shot at the right area near the no-man’s land but for the second-straight time, Eala and Ribera topped it off with a serve-and-volley combination.
Both duos failed to mount a huge offensive streak for a comfortable tiebreak lead but in a crucial stretch in the last four possessions of the intense match, Marcinkevica and Cascino stepped up to the occasion.
Despite the loss, it was still a phenomenal run for Eala and Ribera after an upset against the Indians who are no strangers to the professional doubles level.
The duo holds a list of awards from the International Tennis Federation and even competed in some Grand Slam events.
