TEEN phenom Alex Eala annexed her second pro title yesterday after outclassing Thailand’s Luksika Kumkhum 6-4, 6-2 in the finals of the International Tennis Federation Women’s Asia/Oceania W25 tournament in Chiang Rai, Thailand.
Eala advanced to the finals after dispatching China’s YeXin Ma 6-3, 6-4 in the semis last Saturday while Khumkhum, a wild card entry, reached the championship match with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Japan’s Erika Sema in the other semis encounter.
Playing on her home turf, Kumkhum, 28, once ranked as high as No. 66 in the Women’s Tennis Association world ratings, battled to four deadlocks in the first set against the feisty Pinay southpaw, the last at 4-all with a service ace.
But Eala broke the Thai in the ninth game after battling through three deuces before taking the opening set by holding her serve in the 10th at 40-30 as Kumkhum’s backhand went long.
The second set also looked close until the Filipina scored a crucial break in the fourth set to surge to a 3-1 lead and winning three of the last four games to wrap up the match in one hour and 55 minutes on court 5 of the Chiang Rai Sports Center.
Eala clinched her second pro crown after topping the W25 Manacor tournament in January 2021 on her home court at the Rafael Tennis Academy in Mallorca, Spain.
She has been penciled to make her debut for the national tennis team in the Vietnam Southeast Asian Games next month. — Bong Pedralvez
