Filipino tennis ace Alex Eala ended the 'Czech curse' and claimed her first professional grass court title and her second championship overall after winning the Guadalajara 125 in September last year.
Eala held serve and turned back Nikola Bartunkova at the WTA 125 Birmingham Open final, 5-7, 6-3, 7-5, in England Sunday evening (Manila time) to capture the crown and beat a Czech Republic player in the WTA Tour for the first time.
Topping her doubles partner after 2 hours and 37 minutes, Eala snapped her 13-game skid against Czech players.
Eala's last defeat against a player from Czech Republic came at the hands of Karolina Muchova at the Miami Open last March.
