FILIPINOS CELEBRATE GIRLS' DOUBLES FRENCH OPEN WIN OF ALEX EALA, PARTNER ON INDEPENDENCE DAY

The Philippines had another milestone to celebrate besides Independence Day June 12 as Filipino tennis player Alex Eala and partner Oksana Selekhmeteva captured the French Open girls' doubles title at Roland Garros in Paris, besting eighth seeds Maria Bondarenko of Russia and Amarissa Kiaratoth of Hungary in straight sets, 6-0 7-5, in barely over an hour.

Having breezed through the first set in a mere 20 minutes, giving up only 11 points, Eala and Selekhmeteva seemed to be poised to blow out their opponents.

A third set loomed, however, when the pair were broken by their opponents twice in the first four games of the second to take a 4-2 lead over the top seeds.

Eala, 16, and Selekhmeteva, 18, then returned the favor, winning the next three games to serve for the championship at 5-4.

Their opponents refused to go down without a fight, breaking again to tie the set at 5-5. The Filipina and Russian rebounded, eventually breaking right back for yet another championship point.

This time around, the Filipino and Russian would not be denied. With the former serving for the match, they closed out the match on the second championship point as Bondarenko's backhand hit the net.

Already a grand slam winner having hoisted the 2020 Australian Open girls' doubles title with Indonesia's Priska Madelyn Nugrohodoubles, Eala, who trains at the Rafa Nadal Academy, became the first Filipino to have won two slams.

"Sa lahat ng mga Pinoy na nanood, maraming salamat po (To all the Filipinos who watched, thank you very much)," she said during the awarding ceremony in Filipino.

"It's actually (Philippine) Independence Day today, so I hope I gave my contribution to the country."

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