ALEX EALA and Russian partner Oksana Selekhmeteva advanced to the quarterfinals of the French Open girls’ doubles tournament with a dominant, 6-3, 6-1 win over Sofia Costoulas of Belgium and Laura Hietaranta of Finland on Tuesday at the Stade Roland-Garros in Paris, France.
Globe ambassador Eala and Selekhmeteva, runners-up in the W25 Platja D’Aro in Spain last month, wrapped up the victory in only 57 minutes.
Their opponents took the first game but that proved to be their last gallant stand as Eala and her teammate broke Costoulas and Hietaranta’s serve in the fifth, seventh and ninth game to nab the easy first set win.
With momentum clearly on their side, Eala and Selekhmeteva zoomed off to a 4-0 lead in the second before their opponents got on the board. The 16-year-old Filipina ace finished the match with a crisp forehand winner.
Eala, ranked No. 3 in the world in juniors, and Selekhmeteva, ranked No. 10, will take on either Barbara Palicova of the Czech Republic and Annabelle Xu of Canada or Qavia Lopez of the US and Mathilde Ngijol-Carre of France in the quarterfinals.