Eala beats Hartono, 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-1 to advance to W25 Roehampton finals
ALEX Eala scraped past No. 3 seed Arianne Hartono of the Netherlands, 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-1, to advance to the W25 Roehampton finals late Saturday night in Great Britain.
The 18-year-old Filipina wunderkind pulled off a great escape in the first set before stamping her class in the clincher behind a flurry in the last four games for a huge semifinal win in two hours and 23 minutes.
Ms. Eala, seeded sixth, was to clash against No. 2 seed Arina Rodionova of Australia last night for her fourth pro title and the $25,000 grand prize.
Ms. Rodionova, 33 years old and with 13 titles to show, eked out a gritty 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 comeback win against No. 4 seed Yuriko Lily Miyazaki of Great Britain in the other semis pairing.
But Ms. Eala, the WTA No. 250, bagged the bigger win ignited by a come-from-behind triumph in the first set from a massive 1-4 deficit. Ms. Eala unleashed a 5-2 rally to force a tiebreaker, where she notched a 7-4 win.
As expected, the 27-year-old and WTA No. 208 Ms. Hartono would swing back in the second set behind a 6-2 domination only for Ms. Eala to get back with a bang in a third-set masterclass.
Holding only a 2-1 lead, Ms. Eala dominated the last four games to move a win away from snaring her second pro title this year.
It’s the third finals appearance this season for Ms. Eala, who previously bested three Australian aces in Gabriella Da Silva Fick, Destanee Aiava and Priscilla Hon.
Ms. Aiava was her partner albeit the Filipina-Aussie duo exited in the quarterfinals of the doubles tilt. — John Bryan Ulanday
