MANILA, Philippines – Two matches in one day with just a short interval in between. Two straight-set victories for Alex Eala.
The Filipina teen standout rallied from an early deficit in both sets to overcome hometown bet Lucia Cortez Llorca, 7-5, 7-5, on Thursday, July 18, in the second round of the singles competition of the ITF W100 Vitoria-Gasteiz in Spain.
She then came back just around two hours later in the day to advance to the semifinals of the doubles event after she and Estelle Cascino of France upended in just 59 minutes Victoria Bervid of the Czech Republic and Laura Mair of Italy, 6-4, 6-1.
The 19-year-old Eala and the 24-year-old Cortez Llorca faced each other last year in this same tournament, with the Filipina triumphing in three sets, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2. So Cortez Llorca knew she could keep in step with Eala.
And the world 385th-ranked Spanish did, jumping to a 4-1 lead in the opening set.
Eala, however, remained unfazed even when her foe went up 5-2. She swept the next five games to win, 7-5, and gain a one-set advantage.
The second set followed a similar script. Cortez Llorca threatened to extend the match to a deciding set when she built a 4-1 lead after gaining a service break in the second game.
But the fifth-seeded Eala once again displayed fortitude and willed herself back in the set, breaking her Spanish foe thrice to win the set in the 12th game.
The service game proved to be the difference in the long, drawn-out battle that lasted two hours and seven minutes.
Eala broke Cortez Llorca six times. The Spanish also committed 14 double faults compared to just 2 by Eala, who is now 155th in the world, the highest in her career.
The going gets tougher for Eala because awaiting her in the quarterfinals is fourth seed Yuliia Starodubtseva of Ukraine.
Like Eala, Starodubtseva is enjoying a career-best world ranking of 123. This ascension is a result of the Ukrainian playing the best tennis this year of her career, recently reaching the second round of Wimbledon. She also made the main draws of the Australian Open and the French Open.
In doubles, the third-seeded Eala and Cascino will also be in for a daunting challenge in the semifinals. They will go up against the unseeded pair of Maria Jose Portillo Ramirez of Mexico and Noelia Zeballos Melgar of Bolivia, who upset second seeds Starodubtseva and Rutuja Bhosale of India in the quarterfinals, 6-4, 6-4.
Eala and Cascino look to duplicate their feat last March 31 when they partnered to win the title in the ITF W75 Croissy-Beaubourg in France. – Rappler.com