Maya Joint saves four championship points to end Alexandra Eala's Eastbourne title hopes

The future is now. The youngest final at the Lexus Eastbourne Open in more than four decades delivered in a big way on Sunday, as Australia's Maya Joint saved four championship points to top Alexandra Eala of the Philippines 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(10) and capture a second title of what's been a breakthrough first professional season.

The two unseeded young talents entered the match with a combined age of 39, making Sunday's clash at the longtime tour stop the youngest final since 18-year-old Tracy Austin defeated 16-year-old Andrea Jaeger in 1981. Over two hours and 28 minutes, the second- and third-youngest players in the WTA's Top 100 battled in a back-and-forth affair that ultimately concluded with a dramatic 73-minute final frame that saw both sit in winning positions.

After falling behind 4-1 to start her maiden final appearance, Eala wrestled momentum back from Joint in the middle of the match despite dropping the first set. She won eight of nine games to not only take the second, but push ahead 2-0 in the third, as she sought to be not only the first Filipina to claim a WTA singles title, but also become the first qualifier to win Eastbourne since Ekaterina Makarova in 2010.

From there, Joint won four straight games, but dropped eight consecutive points to bring the score to 4-4 in a blink. Neither player faced a break point from then on, setting the stage for a dramatic final frame in which saw the inexperience of both players, but also their undeniable talent, shine through.

Eala started the stronger of the two, winning five of the first seven points to stake claim to the early lead. Three in a row for Joint followed, including a lucky escape for the Australian as Eala nearly pulled off a Houdini act by digging out Joint's overhead smash.

From there, neither player could win more than two points in a row, with Eala seeing match points slip at 6-5, 8-7, 9-8, and 10-9, while Joint's first chance to win came and went at 7-6. The tense affair finally conclued, though, as the Aussie won the last three points. After two misses by Eala—one forced off the forehand and the second unforced off the backhand—Joint followed up a strong serve with a cross-court backhand winner to put an end to Eala's historic title bid.

Only officially turning professional in December, forgoing a commitment to play college tennis at the University of Texas, Joint has now lifted the trophy in two of her last four events played.

She swept the singles and doubles titles on the red clay of Rabat, Morocco in May, and will break into the Top 50 of the WTA rankings come Monday.