Fired-up Eala ousts Czech foe, barges into French Open juniors semis

MANILA, Philippines – World No. 4 Alex Eala moved two victories away from a dream and record finish in a junior Grand Slam, foiling Czech Linda Noskova, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, to reach the semifinals of the French Open girls’ singles at Roland Garros Thursday.

The second-seeded Pinay ace atoned for a late meltdown in the opening set by dominating the next two frames, fashioning out the one-hour and 59-minute triumph that lined her up against local bet and third-ranked Elsa Jacquemot for a crack at the crown and a record feat.

Jacquemot fended off Belarussian Kristina Dmitruk, 6-4, 6-4, in their side of the quarters faceoff in the lower half of the draw, thus sealing a duel of the fancied bets following the ouster of No. 1 Victoria Kasintseva of Angorra in the second round.

Disputing the other final berth are Kasintseva tormentor Alina Charaeva and Polina Kudermetova in a clash of Russian aces. Charaeva overwhelmed German Alexandra Vecic, 6-2, 6-3, while Kudermetova held off local ace Oceane Babel, 6-3, 7-5.

The 15-year-old Eala, a scholar at the Rafa Nadal Academy, had earlier made history by winning the Australian Open doubles diadem with Indonesian partner Priska Nugroho last January but the global health crisis forced the cancellation of the next two juniors Slam events, the Wimbledon and the US Open.

But she kept on honing her skills and building her confidence during the long break, which she has put on display the past two weeks, netting her victories over Natalia Szabanin of Hungary, 6-4, 6-1; German Mara Guth, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4; and Spain’s Levre Romero Gormaz, 6-1, 4-6, 6-1.

Against the power-hitting Noskova, Eala squandered three set points in the 10th game of the opening set, enabling the former to escape with the victory. But Eala came out smoking in the next, breaking Noskova in the first game then holding serve and breaking her rival again to go 3-0 up.

Noskova, who produced five aces, including three in the opener, broke back in the fourth game and held serve to pull within but the Pinay ace recovered her form and held serve then broke again before the duo traded breaks to pave the way for the decider.

Just when Noskova thought she had checked Eala’s game with a shutout service break in the third set, the latter returned the favor via the same fashion and stayed in control from there, breaking her rival in the fourth and eighth games while holding serve twice to complete the come-from-behind victory and closer to a milestone Slam finish.