Eastbourne International: Joint saves four match points against Eala to win title
Australia's Maya Joint saved four match points before beating Alexandra Eala 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(10) to win the Eastbourne title in a gripping final on Saturday.
Four times Eala, the first player from the Philippines to reach a WTA Tour final, was a point away from victory in the final-set tiebreak but Joint dug deep to prevail.
The 19-year-old Joint showed tremendous resilience to stay alive and when she earned her second match point at 11-10 made no mistake, drilling a backhand crosscourt winner.
READ | Pegula beats Swiatek to clinch Bad Homburg title
While it was joy for Joint who claimed her second WTA title in her last four events having also won her maiden crown in Rabat on clay, the pain was too much for 20-year-old Eala, who went off court in tears to compose herself before the ceremony.
'We will definitely play in more finals,' Joint said after the youngest Eastbourne final by combined age since 1981.
The men's final between Americans Taylor Fritz and Jenson Brooksby was taking place later at Devonshire Park.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
34 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
New faces lead USWNT to familiar result: 4-0 win over Ireland
The United States women's national team's depth was on display Sunday in Cincinnati when the squad's backups dominated Ireland for a 4-0 victory in a friendly. HT Image U.S. coach Emma Hayes made 11 changes from the lineup that defeated Ireland 4-0 on Thursday and didn't miss a beat as the Americans won their fourth straight match without allowing a goal. In fact, Ireland did not put a shot on frame. Izzy Rodriguez, who made her USWNT debut along with Sam Meza, scored in the 42nd minute for a 2-0 lead while Emma Sears played a part in the first three goals. Sears and Rodriguez played together at Ohio State, less than two hours away. Sandwiching the Rodriguez goal, Lynn Biyendolo opened the scoring in the 11th minute and Yazmeen Ryan extended the lead to 3-0 in the 66th with her first goal. Alyssa Thompson made it 4-0 in the 86th on an assist by Claire Hutton. The win was the 600th in USWNT history in just 765 matches. It was such a young lineup that Biyendolo had almost twice as many appearances as the rest of the starting lineup , which represented the fewest combined matches of any USWNT lineup in the past 24 years. It didn't matter. Sears made a cross to Biyendolo in the middle of the box and she ripped a shot for her 25th goal. Rodriguez got on the board when Sears took an entry pass from Olivia Moultrie and forced a save by Courtney Brosnan . The ball came to Rodriguez and she did not hesitate on the rebound. The role was reversed on the third goal. Sears fed Moultrie and she found an unmarked Ryan. A minute after Thompson's goal, hometown favorite Rose Lavelle entered the match to a standing ovation and nearly scored in the ensuing minute. The U.S will get a much sterner test on Wednesday when they play Canada in Washington, D.C., to complete the three-match window. Field Level Media This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
The Hindu
5 hours ago
- The Hindu
Swiatek slams ‘intense' calendar as players feel the grind to protect rankings
Iga Swiatek criticised the relentless tennis calendar on Sunday, with the former world number one saying that players should not be forced to compete in more than 20 tournaments a year to maintain their rankings. Now ranked fourth in the world, Swiatek described being trapped in a system where she had to choose between representing her country and focusing on herself after she reluctantly skipped Poland's Billie Jean King Cup qualifier in April. The 11-month grind has been one of the cornerstones of the lawsuit filed by the Professional Tennis Players' Association (PTPA) against the sport's governing bodies in March after the union described it as 'unsustainable'. 'The scheduling is super intense, it's too intense. There's no point for us to play over 20 tournaments in a year,' Swiatek told reporters when asked about the biggest challenge to players in terms of mental health. 'Sometimes we need to sacrifice playing for your country because we need to keep up with playing these WTA 500s, for example, because we're going to get a zero in the ranking. 'I think these kinds of obligations and the rules about mandatory tournaments just put pressure on us. I think people would still watch tennis, maybe even more, if we played less tournaments. The quality would be better.' Swiatek is the eighth seed at Wimbledon this year and she faces Polina Kudermetova in the first round on Tuesday. The claycourt specialist with four French Open crowns fell in the semifinals at Roland Garros this year and she quickly switched her focus to grass which has historically been her weakest surface. Also read | From King to Krejcikova: List of Wimbledon women's singles champions in Open Era She reached her first grasscourt final on Saturday at the Bad Homburg Open where she was left in tears after losing to top seed Jessica Pegula, but Swiatek is happy with her improvement on grass as she comes to grips with the faster surface. 'It's not like a huge change. It's not like 180 degrees change. I wouldn't say now suddenly everything is perfect, because it's still a difficult surface. It's still tricky,' Swiatek said. 'Every year it feels like it's a little bit easier to get used to the surface and then you have more time to just develop as a player.'
The Hindu
5 hours ago
- The Hindu
Wimbledon 2025: Barbora Krejcikova ready for title defence after injury scare
Barbora Krejcikova insists she is fit for her Wimbledon title defence after the Czech suffered a thigh injury scare just days before the tournament. Krejcikova's Wimbledon participation was plunged into doubt when she pulled out of the warm-up event at Eastbourne on Thursday. The 29-year-old withdrew before playing Varvara Gracheva in the quarterfinals after initially sustaining the injury on Wednesday during her second-round victory over Jodie Burrage. But after resting for several days, Krejcikova is confident the injury will not be an impediment to her bid to retain the Venus Rosewater Dish. 'I had to have a couple of days off where I didn't really play any tennis but I did some off-court stuff. I've been feeling every day a little bit better, so I'm really happy with that,' she told reporters at the All England Club on Sunday. 'I hope by Tuesday everything is going to be fine. I hope I'm going to have a nice match and a great tournament,' she added. Krejcikova will start her All England Club campaign against Alexandra Eala of the Philippines in the first round on Centre Court on Tuesday. Eala made history by becoming the first Filipina to reach a WTA final with her run to the Eastbourne title match on Saturday. ALSO READ | From King to Krejcikova: List of Wimbledon women's singles champions in Open Era The 20-year-old enjoyed a breakthrough run to the Miami Masters semifinals in March, and Krejcikova is relishing the chance to test herself against an emerging star. 'To be honest, I don't really know that much about her yet because she's obviously a young player, an upcoming player, and one of the players of the new generation,' she said. 'I know that she was doing quite well in the first half of the year. It's going to be a great matchup. I'm looking forward to seeing where the young generation is,' Krejcikova added. 'A mix of emotions' Krejcikova, a two-time Grand Slam winner, hopes being back at Wimbledon can provide a welcome lift after a difficult year. The world number 16 has endured a rough ride since defeating Italy's Jasmine Paolini in the Wimbledon final 12 months ago. Krejcikova lost in the second round of the recent French Open and also missed January's Australian Open with a back injury, which kept her sidelined until May and has restricted her to just six matches this year. She made a poor start to the grass-court season with a shock loss against Slovakia's Rebecca Sramkova in the Queen's Club first round before her premature Eastbourne exit. 'It's actually very nice to be here and to play, even after all the time I was out. I'm enjoying it. I'm happy to be here. I find it tough, complicated, but I don't find it difficult,' she said. Asked how she will feel playing on Centre Court for the first time since the final, Krejcikova said: 'It feels great. Definitely I grew up since then. 'I feel very happy and really, let's say, privileged that I can go from this position into the tournament. It's going to be a mix of all the emotions but I think most of them are going to be very positive,' she said. Krejcikova's maiden Grand Slam triumph came at the 2021 French Open, but winning on the iconic lawns of south-west London was an even more memorable experience. 'Everything was amazing. It was like a fairytale, winning the match point and looking at the box. Very special. I couldn't really believe that they were giving the trophy to me,' she said.
