Alex Eala survives Greek foe, reaches US Open juniors quarters

September 9 ------ Alex Eala overcame a tough challenger in Michaela Laki of Greece to reach the 2021 US Open girls singles quarterfinals on Wednesday, September 8 (Thursday, September 9, Manila time) on Court 12 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. The Filipina teen tennis sensation rallied from a set down to defeat No. 15 seed Laki, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, in the third round of the girls singles event.

Eala fought off a slow start after trailing the Greek, 2-5, to get within a game away from extending the first set. But Laki denied the Filipina's comeback by taking the opening set. Though Eala came off stronger in the second set after going up 3-1, Laki did not let the Filipino off the hook as she managed to knot the score at 4-4. The Greek came close to sweeping Eala, but the Filipina held her off by equalizing at 5-5 and scored back-to-back games to take control of the match.

Eala found her footing in the decider and was two points away from sealing the match at 5-2, but Laki delayed Eala's conquest with back-to-back games. Eala broke serve to seal the win after Laki attempted to win back the momentum with a third straight game.

The juniors world No. 2 and Belgian partner Hanne Vanderwinkle will face Laki again with her partner Radka Zelnickova of Slovakia in the doubles event later Wednesday. Eala is seeing action at Flushing Meadows for the first time since 2019 as organizers canceled the 2020 juniors tournament over coronavirus fears. The Rafael Nadal Academy scholar is aiming for her third Grand Slam title after her 2021 French Open juniors doubles conquest with Russian partner Oksana Selekhmeteva.

Source: rappler.com

BREAKING from your news staff:

AFTER surviving a three-set thriller in the girls’ singles play, Alex Eala pulled off a back-to-back win with her Belgian partner Hanne Vandewinkel at the 2021 US Open Juniors Championships on Thursday morning (Manila time).

Vandewinkel and the Filipina ace, sixth-seeded in the tiff, defeated Greece's Michaela Laki and partner Radka Zelnickova of Slovakia over a tiebreak, 6-3, 3-6, 10-6, in the third round to move to the quarterfinals of the New York-based Grand Slam.