By MARK REY MONTEJO
Alex Eala just couldn’t contain her emotions as she received the runner-up trophy after a 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (10) loss to Australia’s Maya Joint in the finals in the Lexus Eastbourne Open in Great Britain last Saturday, June 28.
Not entirely because of the heartbreaking defeat, considering that she came tantalizingly close at claiming the bigger and the more prestigious one – only needing a point on four opportunities to be exact during the tiebreaker in the nerve-wracking third set.
But the tears were mainly for all the love that came her way when she made history as the first-ever player from the Philippines – in both the men’s and women’s division – to reach the championship round of a WTA Tour-level singles tournament.
And despite the loss, Eala was gracious in defeat, knowing full well that a whole lot of future awaits her still.
“It’s a big deal for me, for my country, it’s historic, because it’s the first time [that] any Filipina has done anything [like this before],” said Eala as she received her runner-up plum.
“I guess that’s also why I’m so emotional, it’s only the first, [but] I’ll definitely work hard to do more [and] Wimbledon is next week so hopefully I’ll forget about this much sooner,” the WTA live rankings No. 56 added.
For one, her meteoric rise, which began not too long ago when she made head turns in the Miami Open to the recent struggles in several events and up until making another history yet again at Eastbourne, isn’t over yet.
Big things are yet to come. And the Wimbledon Open main draw, where she is set to face Barbora Krejcikova of Czech Republic is just around the corner.
“I’ll work hard to do more. It’s been a crazy year, so I’ll remember this week and this moment forever,” said Eala.
