Eala, partner near W100 Vitoria Gasteiz doubles crown

MANILA, Philippines -- Alex Eala is a win away from a doubles championship in the W100 Vitoria Gasteiz after she and her partner, France’s Estelle Cascino, made quick work of Mexico’s Maria Portillo Ramirez and Bolivia’s Noelia Zeballos, 6-2, 6-3, Friday.

Eala and Cascino needed just an hour and four minutes to secure the victory as the pair played a beautiful symphony together.

The duo trailed by one, 1-2, in the first set, before blanking their opponents the rest of the way.

The same happened in the second set, with the two trailing 1-2 before winning the next three games to go up 4-2.

After Ramirez and Zeballos won the seventh game, Cascino and Eala breezed through to the final.

The pair won 28 receiving points compared to 17 for their opponents.

They also won 28 service points to Ramirez’s and Zeballos’ 24.

Eala and Cascino will be facing Latvia’s Di?na Marcink?vi?a and Bulgaria’s Lia Karatancheva in the finals.

Meanwhile, Eala also barged into the semifinals of the tournament’s singles’ play after a hard-fought 7-6(5), 6-4 win over Ukraine’s Yulia Starodubtsewa.

Their match took two hours and 20 minutes as the two battled it out in the first set.

After grinding it out in the tiebreak, the Filipina broke a 4-4 tie in the second set to win.

The Asian Games bronze medalist will face Portillo Ramirez in the semifinals.

Both matches are set on Saturday.