Eala settles for bridesmaid finish in first pro doubles final

MANILA, Philippines, May 24 ------ Alex Eala and Russian partner Oksana Selekhmeteva failed to clinch the title in the Women's Doubles of W25 Platja D'Aro in Spain on Saturday. Despite disposing of top-seeded Russian pair Sofya Lansere and Vlada Koval in the quarterfinals, they couldn't get it done against Justina Mikulskyte and Oana Simion in the winnter-take-all final, losing in two sets, 3-6, 5-7.

The younger duo couldn't gain momentum against their more seasoned opponents, going down early 5-1 in the opening set. While they were able to take two game wins back to cut the deficit to two games, 3-5, Mikulskyte and Simion were able to hold their serve in the ninth game to clinch the opening set.

Meanwhile, the second set was more competitive with both pairs going back-and-forth until the match was in deadlock, 5-5. But things turned for the worse for Eala and Selekhmeteva when Mikulskyte and Simion breaking their serve in the 11th game to take the lead, 6-5. Buoyed by their momentum, the pair was able to hold their serve in the final game and take away the win, 7-5.

Source: philstar.com