Alex Eala, legend Venus Williams ace first test as doubles partners

MANILA, Philippines – Alex Eala is at that point of her career where one of her idols is now her doubles partner.

Eala teamed up with American tennis legend Venus Williams and they aced their first test in the Bad Homburg Open in Germany, fashioning out 6-3, 6-4 win over Australian Alexandra Osborne and American Catherine Harrison in the round of 16 on Wednesday, June 24.

The Eala-Williams duo raced to a hot start and made quick work of their opponents in just 1 hour and 10 minutes to advance to the quarterfinals.

A 4-0 opening paved the way for Eala and Williams to a swift first-set win before Osborne and Harrison showed some resistance, pulling level at 4-4 in the second set.

But Eala and Williams broke their foes in the following game to surge ahead at 5-4 then held serve to complete the victory that allowed them to arrange a last-eight clash with the second-seed duo of Olivia Nicholls of Great Britain and Tereza Mihalikova of Slovakia.

The win gave 21-year-old Eala some sort of consolation after she suffered an opening-round exit in singles play following a 6-3, 6-3 loss to Belgium’s Elise Mertens.

Williams, 46, also lost in the first round to Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu.

Eala and Williams are gearing up for the Wimbledon Championships, where they look to make a splash in singles and doubles action, respectively.

Ranked 30th in the world, Eala will be seeded in a Grand Slam for the first time as she gets a first-round bye in Wimbledon.

Meanwhile, Williams — who won five of her seven major singles titles in Wimbledon — renews her iconic doubles partnership with younger sister Serena, who came out of retirement. – Rappler.com