Eala’s tormentor tops Berlin Open; Filipina tennis star makes history at Wimby

Sports

THE athlete responsible for Alex Eala’s elimination in the Berlin Open in Germany ended up winning the crown.

Czech Linda Noskova completed a title run after defeating American Jessica Pegula in their championship match, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, on Sunday night (Philippine time), June 21.

Noskova’s championship run included a 6-2, 6-4 win over Eala in the semifinal round, ending the Filipina’s stellar campaign that saw her defeat world No. 2 Elena Rybakina in the Round of 16 and world No. 8 Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinal round.

With the impressive run, Eala earned €57,395 (around P3.9 million) and 195 ranking points that shoved her in the Top 30 of the WTA rankings.

Eala is now ranked No. 30 in the world after entering the Berlin Open at 35th spot. Her career-high ranking is 29.

The 21-year-old Eala will next compete in the WTA 500 Bad Homburg Open also in Germany. Eala earned a wildcard entry into the singles main draw, where she will face World No. 24 Elise Mertens of Belgium in the Round of 32.

Eala and Mertens battled in the WTA 1000 Madrid Open last April, where the 30-year-old Belgian scored an easty 6-2, 6-1 victory.

Eala will also partner with tennis legend Venus Williams in the doubles. The duo will take on World No. 144 Catherine Harrison of the United States and World No. 141 Alexandra Osborne of Australia on Monday at 5 p.m. (Philippine time), June 22.

From the Homburg Open, Eala will proceed to the Wimbledon Open, which will start on June 29.

Eala is the first Filipino to earn singles seed at a Grand Slam tournament after being named the No. 29 seed for this year’s Wimbledon Championships.(CCM)