Alex Eala beats Rodionova to rule W25 Roehampton

ALEX Eala netted her fourth professional title, beating No. 2 seed Arina Rodionova of Australia in the W25 Roehampton finals yesterday in Great Britain.
It was a killing spree over higher seeds after one another for the sixth-seeded Filipina wunderkind, who needed one hour and 57 minutes to dispatch her Australian counterpart.
Ms. Eala, the WTA No. 250, relied on a pair of strong 3-0 starts in each set for the win in sweeping fashion over the more seasoned Ms. Rodionova.
Ms. Rodionova, 33, is WTA No. 166 and with 13 pro titles to boast but still proved no match for the 18-year-old Pinay.
Ms. Eala connected on most of her serves while breaking Ms. Rodionova on different occasions, especially in the third set when she was attempting an uprising from a 1-4 deficit.
She previously bested No. 1 seed Priscilla Hon of Australia in the quarterfinals and No. 3 seed Arianne Hartono of the Netherlands in the semifinals for a remarkable run over the $25,000 tournament’s Top 3 seeds.
Ms. Eala also drubbed Gabriella Da Silva Fick and Destanee Aiava in the first and second round, respectively.
Ms. Aiava was her partner albeit the Filipina-Aussie duo exited in the quarterfinals of the doubles tilt.
Ms. Eala’s conquest in Great Britain came just two months after ruling the W25 Yecla in Spain for her first two-title harvest in one season in her budding career.
In the same month, Ms. Eala graduated from the Rafael Nadal Academy in Mallorca, Spain, where she spent five years as a full scholar in the prestigious academy of no less than the Spanish legend
She won each in the 2021 W15 Manacor in Spain and the W25 Chiang Rai in Thailand. — John Bryan Ulanday