Eala, American partner outshine veteran foes

Sports

ALEX Eala and American Iva Jovic showed their immense potential after they took down multi-titled Venus Williams and Elina Svitolina, 7-6 (7), 6-1, in the doubles event of the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand on Monday, Jan. 5.

Eala and Jovic, who are unseeded in the tournament, stood their ground in the tight first-set duel before easily taking the second set to finish off their opponents in one hour and 29 minutes.

The 45-year-old Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam champion who also owns 14 Grand Slam doubles titles, and Svitolina showed the stuff they are made of when they battled back from a 0-2 deficit to grab a 4-2 lead in the opening frame.

Eala and Jovic were still down, 5-6, but showed enough composure to take the first win. They raced to a 4-1 start in the second set and kept their veteran opponents at bay the rest of the way.

Eala and Jovic, thus, sealed a quarterfinal duel against the winner between top seeds Asia Muhammad and Erin Routliffee and the pair of Jesika Malekova and Renata Zarazua.

Eala will see action in the opening round of the singles on Tuesday (Philippine time), Jan. 6, against two-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist Donna Vekic.(CCM)