Eala, partner clinch W100 Vitoria Gasteiz doubles crown

MANILA, Philippines -- Alex Eala won her third professional doubles championship after she and her partner, France’s Estelle Cascino, powered through the pair of Bulgaria’s Lia Karatancheva and Latvia’s Diana Marcinkevica, 6-3, 2-6, 10-4, in the W100 Vitoria Gasteiz Saturday.

This is Eala’s second championship with Cascino as her partner. The duo won the W75 Croissy-Beaubourg back in March.

After getting the strong start with a rousing victory in the first set, Eala and Cascino were overpowered in the second frame as they trailed 0-2 early.

Karatancheva and Marcinkevica continued to pounce on their opponents to force the tiebreak.

Here, however, the eventual champions just asserted their mastery, going up 8-1 and completely taking the momentum.

The other pair tried to claw back, but the 19-year-old Filipina and the 28-year-old French tennister just would not let up, getting the title.

It was a dominant run for the two, as they did not yield a set throughout their conquest until the final.

It is Eala’s third total doubles title, as she won her first back in January with the W50 Pune.

The Asian Games bronze medalist will also try to grab a singles title on Sunday when she faces Andorra’s Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva.

The Rafa Nadal Academy graduate needed just an hour and five minutes against Mexico’s Maria Portillo Ramirez, 6-2, 6-1, also on Saturday.