Alexandra Eala has promptly put her disappointment of losing early at Roland Garros to her close friend Iva Jovic behind her by seeing off Nikola Bartunkova to win the WTA 125 Birmingham Open title on Sunday.
Before the advent of the new Queen's WTA event which Eala herself plays in during this next week, Birmingham was a high level grass court stop and now sits on the lower level but still forms part of the rotation alongside Nottingham and Eastbourne in the UK.
Eala had always signed up for the event in case her run at the French Open didn't go her way and headed to the UK after her loss to Jovic which perhaps wasn't too big of a surprise given that the American is a top 16 star and continues to rise.
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Decisive win for Eala
Eala is getting there but isn't up there yet. But winning titles no doubt will help with that confidence. She won 5-7, 6-3, 7-5 in a hard fought final on Sunday. In the second set, Eala took a 5-2 lead before Bartunkova held serve to extend the set. But Eala quickly forced a decider after Bartunkova had managed to win the first 7-5.
But the final set was a bit more dominant after a shaky start. Bartunkova grabbed a 2-1 advantage early in the piece but Eala responded by winning three straight games to move ahead 4-2. The Czech ace fought back and levelled the set at 5-5.
Alexandra Eala against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova the Mutua Madrid Open Day 3
With the game hanging in the balance, Eala held serve to take a 6-5 lead before breaking Bartunkova to win the title 7-5. This is her second title at this level after winning Guadalajara 125 last September.
She now heads to London to play Queen's where she will also be reunited with Jovic and Victoria Mboko who both play next week.
Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.
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