THERE was no fairy tale ending for Alex Eala against Australian teen sensation Maya Joint in the Lexus Eastbourne women’s singles finals late Saturday night (Sunday afternoon in England) in Eastbourne, England.
In a battle of wills and skills between two young rising stars in the WTA tour, it was Eala who blinked, dropping 4-6, 6-1, 6-7 (10-12) decision to the never-say-die Joint in front of an appreciative afternoon crowd at the windy Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club.
Ranked No. 74 in the world, the Filipina southpaw squandered numerous chances in winning her first major WTA tourney against virtually the right-handed mirror image of herself, wasting a 5-2 edge and four championship points in the tiebreaker.
The US-born Australian, ranked No. 51 in the world, was resiliency personified, rallying to wrest the lead 11-10 when her rival’s backhand crosscourt passing shot went wide before wrapping it up with a smashing forehand crosscourt shot near the net after Eala’s weak forehand service return.
Joint fell on her back in both joy and relief while Eala stood on the opposite side of the net, breaking down in tears for allowing a milestone win to slip from her grasp after two hours and 26 minutes of nerve-wracking action.
Just 11 months and seven days older than her rival, Eala, who turned 20 on May 23, and Joint, who celebrated her 19th birthday last April 16, were the second-youngest pair to figure in the Eastbourne women’s singles finals 44 years since Tracy Austin, 19, beat Andrea Jaeger, 16, for the trophy in 1981.
“First of all, I want to congratulate Maya for a great match and a great tournament. I think you did pretty well,” said Eala, still sobbing. “I think if I were to lose to anyone, it was good to lose to you.
“I want to thank the organizers and the WTA for such a beautiful tournament. And everyone who came to watch, you guys made it super special.”
With her parents, Mike and Rizza-Maniego Eala, in the gallery, the athlete acknowledged the enormity of the moment, saying: “It is my first WTA final and, yeah, it was a big deal for me. For my country, too, for this is the first time that any Filipina has done anything.
“Perhaps this is why I am also emotional. Definitely, I will work hard to do more.”
Still speaking with a halting voice, she also admitted that she couldn’t afford to linger and mourn over her loss, pointing out that “Wimbledon is next week, hopefully I will forget this match soon enough…It’s been a crazy year. So I’ll remember this week and this moment forever. Thank you, everybody.”
Joint, who bagged her second WTA tour win after ruling the meet in Rabat, Morocco last May, was magnanimous to her beaten opponent.
“I think Alex played really well today,” Joint said. “She definitely tested me. I think after the first set, she got a lot more aggressive with her balls. I was on the back foot, I felt like, for most of the match. I just needed to try to find a way to get back into it.
“I’m very happy right now. It was a very difficult match. That third set, I’m proud of myself for coming back and staying in the match.”
As the losing finalist, Eala earned 163 WTA ranking points and the runner-up purse of $38,830 (roughly P1.7 million).
Based on her Lexus Eastbourne Open tournament outcome, the Filipina tennis ace is projected to rise to an all-time high of No. 56 in the new WTA world rankings set to be released today, according to the tennis365.com website.
