MANILA, Philippines – In the biggest singles finals of her pro career against a foe who came in with impressive pedigree, Alex Eala stepped up to the plate and delivered a clinical display of relentless aggression combined with patient execution.
The fifth-seeded Eala won her first-ever W100-level event when she disposed of Victoria Jiménez Kasintseva of Andorra, 6-4, 6-4, in a battle between two hard-hitting, left-handed teenagers in the women’s singles final of the ITF Vitoria-Gasteiz on Sunday, July 21.
Eala’s title romp came just a day after the Filipina teen standout also bagged the doubles championship with French partner Estelle Cascino after warding off Lia Karatancheva of Bulgaria and Diana Marcinkevica of Latvia, 6-3, 2-6, 10-4, in the finale.
The singles final matchup at the Peña Vitoriana Tenis Club in Spain between the two former junior standouts who have had similar career trajectories has long been awaited by hardcore tennis fans.
World No. 155 Eala, who turned 19 last May, captured the US Open girls’ singles title in 2022 and was ranked the No. 2 junior player in the world.
Jiménez Kasintseva, who will turn 19 years old in August, was the 2020 Australian Open girls singles champion and became the No. 1 junior player in the world when she was 14.
The title match delivered the anticipated fireworks, with Eala matching her foe’s powerful groundstrokes while pushing Jiménez Kasintseva to be constantly on the move.
The Filipina sent a strong message right off the bat when she broke Jiménez Kasintseva in the very first game of the opening set, then opened a 2-0 lead.
She broke Jiménez Kasintseva anew in the fifth game and went up 5-2, but the Andorran managed to claim the next two games to inch closer at 4-5.
Eala, though, made sure that was the nearest Jiménez Kasintseva would get, with the Filipina closing the opening set in the 10th game after going up 40-15 on her serve.
The second set saw Eala once again erecting an early 2-0 advantage. But Jiménez Kasintseva found her groove and secured the next three games for her first taste of the lead at 3-2. Eala then showed her composure and maturity.
Not only did she tie the count on her serve the very next game, but she broke Jiménez Kasintseva in the seventh game to regain the lead at 4-3.
Although she lost her serve in the eighth game, Eala answered back in the ninth with her own service break, then held serve after to finish the final in 1 hour and 34 minutes.
Both Eala and Jiménez Kasintseva were seeking their fifth career singles title in the pro tour, although their previous high title conquests were in W25-level events.
Both were coming off impressive semifinal victories the previous day, with Eala blasting Maria Jose Portillo Ramirez of Mexico, 6-2, 6-1, and Jiménez Kasintseva making short work of second seed Jessika Ponchet of France, 6-2, 6-2.
This week marked the best week of Eala’s pro career as she achieved the rare feat of winning both the singles and doubles titles. – Rappler.com
