How Alex Eala and Priska Nugroho ruled the Australian Open
MANILA, Philippines — Sometimes, it is the smallest things that make the biggest differences in an athlete's quest for success.
For Philippine tennis phenom Alex Eala, it was an direct message on Instagram from longtime friend and tennis partner Priska Nugroho that would start a chain of events that ended with the Philippines' first grand slam win since 2009.
"She just messaged me on Instagram... and since we're really close and have a history [of playing together] naman, me and my team thought it was a good idea," Eala said on how her and Nugroho's Australian Open partnership came to be.
Eala and Nugroho went way back, playing together and knowing each other since the Filipina tennister was eight years old.
"We've partnered up a lot of times before but in [the] 14-under [tournaments]. This is the first time we've partnered in three years," she said.
The reunited friends would go on to rule the Australian Open Girls doubles tournament, highlighted by an upset of defending champions and first-seeded pair Kamilla Bartone and Linda Fruhvirtova.
"I think with our past, it made it easier to connect on the court," she said.
Both eliminated in the third round of the Girls singles tourney, Eala and Nugroho were eager to redeem themselves.
"I think on the singles, it just wasn't our days... to make [the experience] even better than it was, we really wanted to focus on the doubles," Eala said.
The pair eventually went on to the Finals and won the title in 49 minutes, one of the fastest wins in the tournament with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Matilda Mutavdzic and Ziva Falkner.
Following the success, it was an easy answer for Eala if she and Nugroho would be partnering up in future tournaments.
"Yes. Hopefully," Eala said.
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