After over 40 days of non-action, Alex Eala was back and bagged with two wins in two days.
The 15-year-old Filipino tennis ace marked her return in the ITF Women’s World Tour with victories in both doubles and singles in the W25 Platja D’Aro tournament in Catalonia, Spain, the last two days.
Eala was a bit sluggish in her singles match on the second day, but eventually asserted her mastery over hometown bet Alba Carrillo Marin in three sets, 6-3, 5-7, 7-5, to move into the Round of 16.
The juniors exempt entrant had the opportunity to take the 6-5 in the deciding set with a net volley, but the ball clipped the net and instead cut Carrillo Marin’s deficit to 30-40.
Nonetheless, a powerful shot from Eala was too much for the Spaniard to return and the Filipino went on to serve for the match. Eala ultimately wasted no time and swept the final game on her own serve to take the victory.
The Filipino teenager actually struggled at the start of the match, going down 0-2 at the onset, before taking her bearings to take the set at 6-3.
It was a similar story in the second set, but this time Carrillo Marin’s hold of serve to lead at 6 games-5 eventually turned into a deadlock at a set apiece as Eala struggled with her serve throughout the second frame.
Eala returned to competition the day before, teaming up with Russian Oksana Selekhmeteva in taking care of the pair of Spain’s Valeria Koussenkova and South Africa’s Warona Mdululwa, 6-2, 6-0. The two will take on top seeds in Russians Sofya Lansere and Vlada Koval in the quarterfinals.
In singles play, the 2020 French Open juniors semifinalist will face another Spaniard in Irene Burillo Escorihuela in the second round.
