Alex Eala fell short in her bid of a first pro doubles title with Russian partner Oksana Selekhmeteva in the W25 Platja D’Aro tournament in Spain Saturday, May 22.
The unseeded Eala and Selekhmeteva bowed to Lithuania’s Justina Mikulskyte and Romania’s Oana Georgeta Simion, 6-3, 7-5, in their finals matchup after 1 hour and 22 minutes.
The Filipino-Russian tandem almost forged a deciding set when they led 5-4 in the second set, but the more experienced Mikulskyte and Simion rose to the challenge by winning the next three games to secure the win.
Still, it was an impressive performance for Eala, who is on her first doubles tournament in the pros.
She and Selekhmeteva opened their bid with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Spain’s Valeria Koussenkova and South Africa’s Warona Mdlulwa before stunning Russian top seed Vlada Koval and Sofya Lansere, 6-3, 2-6, 12-10.
They toppled Dutch pair Isabelle Haverlag and Suzan Lamens, 6-3, 6-1, in the semis.