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 tie-break but Joint dug deep to prevail. The 19-year-old showed tremendous resilience to stay alive and when she earned her second match point at 11-10 and made no mistake, drilling a backhand crosscourt winner.
While it was joy for Joint, who claimed her second WTA title in her past four events, having won her first crown in Rabat on clay, the pain was too much for the 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.
It meant Joint became the first Australian player to win the women’s title in the 50-year history of the British seaside event which has become the traditional curtain raiser for the grass-court grand slam which begins on Monday.
“It’s been an amazing year, an amazing two years,” Joint said at Devonshire Park, while saluting the Australian coach Chris Mahony she credits for transforming her career.
“Thank you for everything you’ve done. You’re a lifesaver,” she told him on court.
The astonishing 6-4 1-6 7-6 (12-10) win rocketed Brisbane-based Joint, who only turned 19 in April, to No 41 in the world when she kicks off her maiden Wimbledon with a tough opener against Russian No 19 seed Liudmila Samsonova on Tuesday.
“I’m very happy right now, feeling very relieved as well,” Joint said. “It was a very difficult match. In that third set, and I’m proud of myself for coming back and staying in the match, even though I’d lost about nine of the last 10 games.”
She had been 5-2 down, and almost out, in the final breaker, having to come up with fabulous defensive scrabbling to stay in contention as Eala came agonisingly close to becoming the Philippines’ first ever WTA champion.
But Joint demonstrated calm to seal the showdown.
Joint’s run to her first WTA title on the clay at the Morocco Open five weeks ago also came on the weekend before a grand slam, and she then got knocked out in the first round by Ajla Tomljanovic.
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“It’s really great preparation,” Joint said. “I’ve got a lot of matches in before Wimbledon, and hopefully I can be in Wimbledon a little bit longer than I was in the French.
“I think this time’s a tiny bit different. I get one more day of rest, and I’ll just detach myself a little bit more from the last match, and just focus on the match coming up. But I’m just really excited to get to London later today, and step into ‘Wimby’ for the first time.”
Of Samsonova, a tough customer who’s reached the last-16 in three grand slams, Joint said: “I haven’t played her before, so I don’t know too much about her.”
The news quickly spread to the youngster’s friends and colleagues at Wimbledon 120km north of the seaside town, leaving Daria Kasatkina, who won the tournament last year before she switched her allegiance to Australia, delighted for her Eastbourne hitting partner.
“I practised with her before Eastbourne, and she actually had a little struggle playing on grass, and I could see she was a bit, let’s say, depressed about the practice,” Kasatkina said.
“But you already saw she won a title this year, and she’s got great potential. She’s also a very nice girl, hard-working girl. I mean, she’s got everything – and I’m happy for her to having this success already so early.”
