By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Filipina tennis sensation Alex Eala scored two huge victories in both the singles and doubles categories of the juniors’ division in the ongoing 2021 US Open.
The product of the Rafael Nadal Tennis Academy came back from being behind to win two straight sets against Michaela Laki of Greece, 6-4, 5-7, 4-6, to reach the US Open juniors singles quarterfinal stage.
It was a slow start for the Filipina ace as Eala committed too many unforced errors which the rising star from Greece capitalized on.
However, Eala was quick to bounce back and was more careful with her shot selection to overcome an early exit in the Grand Slam event.
Eala will be squaring off against the heavy-hitting Sebastianna Scilipoti in the quarterfinal round who took down Sofia Costoulas in the Round of 16.
Meanwhile, Eala, together with partner Hanne Vanderwinkel, also had a huge game in the juniors’ doubles category as they got past Laki and Radka Zelnickova for another quarterfinal berth.
Laki seemed to have her revenge against Eala but the clutch net defense the Filipina and her partner showed forced a deciding tiebreaker which they eventually won, 6-3, 3-6, 10-6.
Eala is looking to make history as the first Filipina to win a Grand Slam title in two categories of the same event (singles and doubles).
