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FILE – Filipino tennis player Alex Eala. Photo of the Rafael Nadal Academy
Philippine tennis hope Alex Eala fought through a troubled service game to overtake Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, on Thursday night and reach a milestone by breaking into the women’s singles semifinals of the French Open.
The 15-year-old world No. 4 became the first Filipina to go this far in a Grand Slam event and even matched the great Filipino tennis player Felix Barrientos, who in 1985 reached the semifinals at Wimbledon.
She is now in a position to help Filipino tennis rise to the next level after years of depression as she battles for a final seat against local girl Elsa Jacquemot in Friday’s semi-finals.
But things did not start well for Academy scholar Rafael Nadal, as she struggled with her service game against the same opponent she beat two years ago for the Les Petits As title also in France.
By the way, that match earned them wild card tickets at Roland Garros in 2018.
And on court 12 on Thursday, they doubled down on that opening match as they battled through intense back and forth during the two-hour game.
Second-seeded Eala, who normally has a reliable serve, gave up three service games in the first set, including the 10th game in which she led 40-15.
But he held firm in the next set, scoring early breaks and holding once, after four two, for a 3-0 lead that he consolidated to level the match.
Noskova broke Eala in the first game of the third set. But that was all the Filipina could allow her as she claimed the next four games, winning the fifth game in love, to take the driver’s seat.
It took Eala two deuces to hold serve in the seventh game 5-2 before finally wearing down the Czech who lost her serve for the match.
On nearby Court 11, third-seeded Jacquemot eliminated Belarusian Kristina Dmitruk, 6-4, 6-4, in another quarter-final match to advance against Eala.
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