Eala, Japanese partner sail to W25 Thailand doubles quarters

MANILA, April 13 ------ Just two days after her W25 Chiang Rai singles title win in Thailand, Alexandra “Alex” Eala of the Philippines advanced to the doubles quarterfinals of the tournament’s second leg alongside Shiho Akita of Japan. Eala and Akita routed Thai wildcards Salakthip Ounmuang and Pawinee Ruamrak, 6-2, 6-1, in 51 minutes in their opening round clash held at Court 5 of the Chiang Rai Sports Center on Tuesday.

The Filipino-Japanese tandem kicked off the match with a break of serve upon reaching deuce, and the Thai duo broke back to level at 1-1. Eala and Akita proceeded to win the next four games to be at 5-1, then Ounmuang and Ruamrak held serve to trail at 2-5. With Eala and Akita serving for the set, they raced to 40-15 and clinched the set, 6-2, with a forehand volley winner down the T.

They went on to dominate the second set with a 4-0 lead, with crucial forehand volley winners claiming the third and fourth games. Ounmuang and Ruamrak fought back and saved three break points to get on the scoreboard and be at 1-4. Eala and Akita then saved a break point in the next game to move closer towards victory at 5-1. With Ounmuang and Ruamrak serving to stay in the match, a backhand error from the Thais gave Eala and Akita three match points. A forehand error from Eala allowed Ounmuang and Ruamrak to save the first match point, but the 16-year-old Filipino tennis star followed this up with a crosscourt forehand volley winner to take the match, 6-1.

In the quarterfinals, Eala and Akita will face No. 4 seeds Luksika Kumkhum of Thailand and Momoko Kobori of Japan, who eliminated Katarina Kozarov of Serbia and Man Ying Maggie Ng of Hong Kong, 6-0, 6-4.

Last Sunday, Eala beat Kumkhum, 6-4, 6-2, in the final of the W25 Chiang Rai first leg to claim her second professional title on the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Women’s World Tennis Tour. Eala, the 2021 W15 Manacor champion, ousted Kobori from the same $25,000 Thai tilt with a 6-3, 6-3 triumph in the quarterfinals.

Meanwhile, in the singles draw of the W25 Chiang Rai second leg, Eala is slated to play against No. 1 seed Indy de Vroome of the Netherlands at Court 4 on Wednesday. De Vroome was Eala’s partner in the doubles tournament of the W25 Chiang Rai first leg, where they were ousted in the opening round in three sets.

Eala, a Rafa Nadal Academy player, has been joining professional tournaments since January. The current Women’s Tennis Association World No. 572 competed as a main draw wildcard in the Miami Open last month, losing to American Madison Brengle in the first round in straight sets.

On the juniors side, Eala is the ITF Juniors World No. 11 with a career-high ranking of No. 2. She has two junior grand slam girls’ doubles titles under her belt: the 2021 Roland Garros with Oksana Selekhmeteva of Russia and the 2020 Australian Open with Priska Madelyn Nugroho of Indonesia.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com