By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Filipina tennis stalwart Alex Eala concluded her International Tennis Federation (ITF) W25 Aldershot women’s singles campaign with a runner-up finish held at the Aldershot Tennis Centre in Great Britain last August 20, 2023.
Despite falling at the hands of Australia’s Destanee Aiava during the grand finals- 6.3, 4.6, 1.6- Eala still extended her steak of podium finishes after clinching the gold medal in the W25 Roehampton a week ago.
Eala went off to the races and had a strong start in the championship finale after immediately scoring a break-point to take a comfortable lead in the opening set.
The Australian had a difficult time reading Eala’s top-spin directions and was still off-rhythm when receiving her forehand bombs in the baseline area.
Aside from Eala’s groundstroke power, she also had an efficient service game in the first set which also helped her cruise to a three-point lead for a 1-0 advantage.
However, Aiava quickly figured out Eala’s tendencies in the following set and started to mount a stunning rally to put herself back into the match.
Aiava hiked her second-set lead to as much as four set points, 5-1, before Eala countered with a break-point to inch close, 5-4.
Just when Eala thought she could outduel the Australian again in the baseline, Aiava shifted gears in the most crucial stretch of the second set and varied her offensive approach.
Coming in with a mix of net attacks and deep slice spins, Aiava completed the comeback and put Eala in several awkward positions during their long rally exchanges.
Aiava then took full control of the match in the third and final set after dominating Eala by breaking her service possessions three-consecutive times.
The 18-year-old Filipina will currently have a rest from her ITF circuit and will return to the playing court once the second half of her tourney schedule resumes.
