By Adrian Stewart Co
Filipina tennis sensation Alex Eala and her partner Oksana Selekhmeteva of Russia emerged as the queens of the 2021 French Open girls’ doubles tournament on Saturday night at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France.
The tandem of Eala and Selekhmeteva clinched the crown after demolishing the eighth-seeded pair of Amarissa Kiara Toth of Hungary and Maria Bondarenko of Russia, 6-0, 7-5 in the finals.
The feat was historic for Eala as this was her first-ever French Open juniors’ championship and her second Grand Slam win after taking the 2020 Australian Open girl’s doubles event last year with Indonesian partner Priska Nugruho.
The 16-year-old Eala and 18-year-old Selekhmeteva had a near-flawless execution in the opening set as they broke the pair of Toth and Bondarenko thrice for an easy 6-0 beating.
Toth and Bondarenko made their presence felt in the second set as they took a 1-0 edge, which later widened to 3-1 as they pounded on the miscues of Eala and Selekhmeteva.
Toth and Bondarenko went on to widen the lead to 4-2 but Eala and Selekhmeteva won the next three matches to surge ahead at 5-4 but Toth and Bondareno staved off defeat by taking the 10th frame and tied the game at 5-all.
Eala and Selekhmeteva proved to be tougher in the clutch as they roared back in the 11th game to take a 6-5 advantage before finally clinching the championship in the next match.
“Sa lahat ng Pinoy na nanood, maraming salamat sa suporta. It’s actually Independence Day (in the Philippines last Saturday) so I hope that I made my contribution to the country,” Eala said after the match.
Eala, who trains under the Rafael Nadal Academy, will take a short breather before plunging back into action by competing at Wimbledon, the third Grand Slam event of the year./ASC, WDJ