Third seed Alex Eala couldn’t maintain her strong start, losing the last two sets to sixth seed Destanee Alava of Australia, with a score of 6-3, 4-6, 1-6, in the finals of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) W25 Aldershot held on Sunday at the Aldershot Tennis Centre in Great Britain.
The 18-year-old Eala was aiming for her second consecutive championship trophy, having secured her fourth pro title of her young career just last week in the ITF W25 Roehampton, also in Great Britain.
However, the 23-year-old Alava, Eala’s doubles partner in the ITF W25 Roehampton, seemed to have a solid understanding of Eala’s game.
After losing the opening set, the Australian made a strong comeback, gaining a 5-1 lead in the second set. Although Eala attempted a rally and brought the score to 5-4, Alava thwarted her efforts with a service break to clinch the set.
The deciding set was entirely dominated by Alava, as she controlled the match and prevented Eala from making a comeback.
This marks Alava’s second consecutive victory over Eala. She previously defeated the young Filipino tennis phenom in an ITF tournament in Spain last June.
Eala’s impressive performance over the past two weeks has propelled her up the world rankings.
She has climbed 26 places from her previous ranking of 243rd to reach 217th, only three spots away from her career-high of 214th.
