MANILA – Filipina Alexandra Eala suffered a heartbreaking 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 defeat to Australia’s Maya Joint in a thrilling finale of the Lexus Eastbourne Open on Saturday night at the Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club in Eastbourne, United Kingdom.
The 20-year-old Eala had four opportunities to capture her maiden professional crown in the tiebreak but has allowed Joint to force deadlock with last at 10-all before the latter went on to score the next two points for the win.
Despite the defeat, it was already a huge feat for Eala as she became the first player from the Philippines to reach a WTA final in the tour’s 54-year history, and the first player from Southeast Asia to enter the finals since Tamarine Tanasugarn in 2010.
“It’s my first WTA final. It’s a big deal for me. For my country, too, because it’s historic. It’s the first time any Filipino has done anything. That’s why I’m so emotional. But it’s only the first,” Eala said.
Eala struggled with her shots in the opening set as she trailed at 2-4 before mounting a comeback to cut the deficit to 4-5, but Joint recovered in the next game to secure a 1-0 set lead.
The Filipina, however, took advantage of an erratic plays from her Australian foe to take a 6-1 lead before surging to a 2-0 start in the deciding set, but Joint responded with four straight wins to take a 4-2 advantage.
Eala bounced back by taking the next three matches to take a 5-4 advantage, but just struggled to close the match as Joint tied the count at 6-all, sending the match to a tiebreaker.
“What’s a week. Amazing playing Alex. Great week. We’ll definitely be playing in many more finals. You’ve been having such an amazing year. Great job to you and your team,” Joint said on Eala.
The Eastbourne Open tournament served as a warm-up for both players as they prepare for Wimbledon this week./PN
