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Tennis: Alex Eala into W25 Roehampton final with ouster of Dutch 3rd seed

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Rosy Mina

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Alex Eala at the WTA Thailand Open in Hua Hin. 2023 Thailand Open presented by @E" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/life/08/12/20230811-alex-eala.jpg"/><figcaption>Alex Eala at the WTA Thailand Open in Hua Hin. 2023 Thailand Open presented by @E</figcaption></figure></div>No. 6 seed Alex Eala of the Philippines rallied past third-seeded Arianne Hartono of the Netherlands on Saturday to enter her second final of the year at the W25 Roehampton in Great Britain.The 18-year-old Eala, who won her third ITF singles title in June at the W25 Yecla in Spain, completed her semifinal versus WTA World No. 208 Hartono, 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-1, in 2 hours and 31 minutes at the National Tennis Centre.Hartono, also a three-time ITF singles champion, was first to take the lead at 2-0 via a forehand crosscourt winner.World No. 250 Eala got on the scoreboard with a forehand down-the-line shot, but the 27-year-old Hartono responded by pulling away with a 4-1 edge.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/08/11/23/alex-eala-stuns-aussie-no-1-seed-priscilla-hon-to-reach-w25-roehampton-semis">Tennis: Eala stuns Aussie No. 1 seed Hon to reach W25 Roehampton semis</a></li></ul>Eala caught up and advanced to 5-4 by breaking serve twice and securing two love service holds.Both players continued to hold serve, with Hartono saving three set points in the 12th game to force a tiebreak.Eala overcame a 2-4 deficit and gained two set points after Hartono committed a string of errors, and the Filipino clinched the first set, 7-6(4), courtesy of a double fault.In the second set, Hartono soared to a 4-1 lead via a love service hold. Shortly after, play was interrupted by rain at 40-40 in the sixth game with Eala on serve.Hartono went on to win the second set, 6-2, by breaking serve to love due to an Eala backhand error.Undeterred by the setback, the Filipino teen quickly recovered by advancing to 2-0 in the deciding set.The 2022 US Open Juniors singles winner extended her lead to 4-1 by breaking serve at 40-15 after her Dutch opponent hit a forehand long.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/08/10/23/tennis-eala-begins-w25-roehampton-with-back-to-back-wins">Tennis: Eala begins W25 Roehampton with back-to-back wins</a></li></ul>She saved a break point and held serve after two deuces to inch closer to victory, 5-1.Eala quickly gained three match points in the following game and won her seventh out of 16 break points to triumph at 6-1 after Hartono’s forehand shot was called out.In the women’s singles final on Sunday, Eala will clash with Australian second seed and World No. 166 Arina Rodionova, who defeated British fourth seed Yuriko Lily Miyazaki, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3.The W25 Roehampton, which offers $25,000 in prize money, is part of the ITF Women’s World Tennis Tour.Eala’s singles campaign is marked by three victories over Australians, starting with the 6-3, 6-4 elimination of World No. 781 qualifier Gabriella Da Silva Fick.The Rafa Nadal Academy player then ousted World No. 289 Destanee Aiava in the second round, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, and 201st-ranked top seed Priscilla Hon in the quarterfinals, 6-2, 6-4.In the doubles competition, Eala teamed up with Aiava for a quarters finish against Australian No. 1 seeds Talia Gibson and Petra Hule, 1-6, 5-7.The Filipino-Australian pair started their doubles run with a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Julie Belgraver of France and Ella McDonald of Great Britain.<div>RELATED VIDEO</div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2100997" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

No. 6 seed Alex Eala of the Philippines rallied past third-seeded Arianne Hartono of the Netherlands on Saturday to enter her second final of the year at the W25 Roehampton in Great Britain.