Alex Eala, partner advance to Roland Garros Juniors finals


Alex Eala (right) hugs his Russian partner Oksana Selekhmeteva after advancing to the final round of the Roland Garros Girls Doubles in Paris, France. (Rafa Nadal Academy)

Alex Eala and Russian partner Oksana Selekhmeteva advanced to the finals of the Roland Garros Girls Doubles after routing Italian duo Lisa Pigato and Eleonora Alvisi, 6-2, 6-1, in the semifinal round in Paris, France Saturday morning, June 12 (Manila time).

The top-seeded pair only needed 53 minutes to beat their Italian opponents and set up a final showdown with eighth-ranked duo Maria Bondarenko of Russia and Amarissa Kiara Toth of Hungary.

READ: Eala, partner advance to semis of Roland Garros Juniors

Eala and Selekhmeteva raced to a 4-2 lead in the first set and encountered little resistance from their Italian foes.

READ: Eala, partner march into quarters of Roland Garros Juniors

In the second set, Pigato and Alvisi could only offer a fightback in the third game before Eala and her partner pulled away for good.

The 16-year-old Eala is one step closer to her second Grand Slam Girls Doubles title after bagging the 2020 Australian Open with Indonesian partner Priska Madelyn Nugroho.

READ: Eala, Russian partner advance to 2nd round of Roland Garros Juniors

The same goes for Selekhmeteva, 18, who is seeking for her second Grand Slam Girls Doubles title since winning the 2019 US Open with Kamilla Bartone of Latvia.

In the other semifinal matchup, Bondarenko and Toth defeated third-seeded Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva of Andorra and Linda Noskova of Czech Republic 6(2)-7, 6-2, 10-4.

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