Eala cops 1st pro doubles crown

MANILA, Philippines -- Alex Eala won her first professional doubles' title after she and Latvian Darja Semenistaja swept the top-seeded pair of Hungary's Fanny Stollar and Great Britain's Naiktha Bains, 7-6(8),6-3, Saturday night in the W50 Pune final.

Eala and her partner secured the championship in a grueling tournament.

The winning pair was down 4-5 in the first set. But they were able to force the extra set as they powered through in the 10th game.

Bains and Stollar then took the next game, but Eala and Semenistaja swept their opponents in the 12th game to force the decider.

In the second set, the Eala-Semenistaja pair went down 1-2.

However, they won the next four games as they got to a championship game, 5-2.

After scoring the first point, the British-Hungarian duo swept the eighth game to stay alive, 5-3.

In the championship game, Eala and Semenistaja had a 40-15 lead, but Bains and Stollar won the next two serves.

The Filipino-Latvian team, then did just enough to secure the set and the championship, 6-3.

Last year, Eala won two singles tournaments -- the W25 Yecla and the W25 Roehampton.

The Filipino tennis ace earlier this year reached the semifinals of the Workday Canberra doubles tilt. But she and her partner, Brazil's Laura Pigossi, failed to get to the finals.