Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 12) – Filipino tennis ace Alex Eala and Russian partner Oksana Selekhmeteva displayed a dominating performance as they earned a ticket to the 2021 French Open girls doubles finals.
Eala and Selekhmeteva, the tournament’s top seed, overwhelmed defending champions Lisa Pigato and Eleanora Alvisi after notching a 6-2, 6-1 win in their semifinal match that lasted for only 53 minutes Saturday morning (Philippine time).
The victory sent Eala to her second Grand Slam doubles finals appearance after her 2020 Australian Open girls doubles title conquest with Indonesian partner Priska Nugroho.
In the first set, the Eala- Selekhmeteva tandem broke into an early 2-0 lead but the Italian pair made shots and scored a break point in the fourth game to tie the game at 2-all.
From then on, the Filipino-Russian duo showed outstanding first serve performance winning four straight games to gain a set advantage. Eala and Selekhmeteva won eight out of their nine first serve attempts in the first frame.
It was all Eala-Selekhmeteva in the second frame as they continued their brilliant first serve games and stretched their lead further by winning more return games with 71%.
Before the prestigious Roland Garros tournament, the duo debuted with a bridesmaid finish at the W25 Platja D’Aro meet in Spain last May 22. It was Eala’s first doubles tournament in the professional tennis circuit.
Eala and Selekhmeteva will face the pair of Russian Maria Bondarenko and Hungarian Amarissa Kiara Tóth in the championship match Saturday night (Philippine time).
