FILE-Filipino tennis player Alex Eala. -Veneto Open/Rafa Nadal Academy
MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala moved closer to her third International Tennis Federation (ITF) doubles professional title as she and her French partner Estelle Casino reached the W100 Vitoria-Gasteiz final.
Eala and Cassino defeated Maria Portillo Ramirez of Mexico and Noelia Zeballos of Bolivia 6-2, 6-3 in the semifinals on Friday (Manila time) in Spain.
The Filipino-French duo had to recover from a 1-2 start before sweeping their group and dominating their semifinal opponents to win their second championship together.
READ: Alex Eala starts with victory in W100 Vitoria-Gasteiz singles
Eala and Casino will face Latvia's Diana Marcinkevica and Liya Karatantcheva in the championship game late Saturday.
The 19-year-old Filipino won her second professional doubles title with French netter at the W75 Croissy-Beaubourg in France last March.
The finalist pair defeated the pair of Viktoria Barwid of Czechia and Laura Maier of Italy 6-4, 6-1 in the quarter-finals.
READ: Alex Eala achieves new highest ranking of her career at WTA
Eala, who has achieved a career-high ranking of 155 in the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), will face her doubles rival Ramirez in the quarter-finals on Saturday, and is eyeing another final ticket in singles.
The young Netter defeated Yulia Starodubtseva of Ukraine 7-6 (5), 6-4 in the quarterfinals on Friday.
In the second round, she defeated home rival Lucía Cortez Lorca 7–5, 7–5.
Eala is seeking her fifth ITF singles title in Spain and her first $100,000 win.
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