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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Eala, partner storm into the semifinals of Luxembourg tourney

Eala, partner storm into the semifinals of Luxembourg tourney

Published Nov 16, 2023 06:26 am

At A Glance

  • Alex Eala and Zeynep Sonmez stunned their seeded rivals to storm into the doubles semifinals of the Kyotec Open in Petange, Luxembourg on Thursday, Nov. 16.

Alex Eala and Zeynep Sonmez stunned their seeded rivals to storm into the doubles semifinals of the Kyotec Open in Petange, Luxembourg on Thursday, Nov. 16.

The Filipina-Turkish pair dictated the pace throughout and shocked fourth pick Katarina Kozarov of Serbia and Anita Wagner of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 6-2, 6-1, to inch closer to the crown in this $40,000 International Tennis Federation (ITF) event.

Alex Eala1
Alex Eala inches closer to her first doubles title in the pro circuit after moving into the semifinals in the Luxembourg event. (File Photo)

Despite partnering for the first time, Eala and Sonmez showed chemistry inside the court to dispose of their foes and set up a meeting with the winner between the top-seeded pair of Ali Collins of Great Britain and Isabelle Haverlag of the Netherlands, and hometown bet Marie Weckerie and Dutch Indy De Vroome.

The 18-year-old Eala is also still in contention in the singles where she is seeded ninth and playing against Danish qualifier Johanne Christine Svendsen at press time.

This would be Eala’s last tournament of the season as she aims to end her campaign on a high note.

Meanwhile, top seed Francis Casey Alcantara and Indonesian partner Christopher Rungkat fell short on their bid at the M25 Hua Hin tournament in Thailand on Wednesday, Nov. 15.

Alcantara and Rungkat failed to sustain their hot start and yielded to unseeded Japanese tandem Koki Matsuda and Ryota Tanuma, 1-6, 6-3, 10-8, in the opening round of the $25,000 ITF event.

In Kobe, Japan, fellow Davis Cupper Ruben Gonzales and Korean partner Yun Seong Chung are competing against Indian duo Pura Raja and Ramkumar Ramanathan at press time for a spot in the semifinals of the Hyogo Noah Challenger.

Gonzales and Chung are coming off a morale-boosting 6-4, 6-4 win over third seed Rithvik Choudary Bollipalli and Arjun Kadhe in the first round of the $80,000 Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) tournament.

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