By Kristel Satumbaga
Alex Eala’s impressive French Open Juniors campaign ended Friday night in Paris after yielding to local bet Elsa Jacquemot, 6-3, 6-2, in the semifinal.
The second-seeded Eala struggled by dropping her serve six times against the hard-serving French foe in the match that lasted 64 minutes.
Jacquemot, seeded third and also on her first French Open semifinal appearance like Eala, also banked on her superb winners to arrange championship duel with Russsian Russsia’s Alina Charaeva.
The unseeded Charaeva, who stunned top seed and ITF juniors No. 1 Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva in the second round, pulled off another shocking victory over fourth pick compatriot Polina Kudermetova, 7-6 (5), 2-6, 7-5, for a spot in the final.
Despite the defeat, Eala is expected to improve her International Tennis Federation (ITF) junior ranking of No. 4 at the end of the tournament.
Making into the semis was also an achievement after she became the first Filipina to do so, matching Felix Barrientos’ feat in the 1985 Wimbledon Juniors.
