Just a week after reaching the second round of the US Open, Alex Eala is back in action, chasing her first-ever title in the WTA Challenger circuit.
Seeded second in the tournament, Eala delivered a clinical performance to defeat Arianne Hartono of the Netherlands, 6-2, 6-2, in the opening round of the WTA 125 Guadalajara Open at the Panamerican Tennis Center in Zapopan, Mexico.
A late entry in the competition, the Filipina ace wasted no time proving she deserved her wildcard slot, dominating Hartono — a Dutch-Indonesian who captured the 2018 US NCAA Division I championship while playing for the University of Mississippi.
After trading service breaks in the opening two games of the first set, the 20-year-old Eala shifted gears, winning five of the next six games to seal the set in just 37 minutes.
Eala and Hartono had already met three times prior, including twice earlier this year, with Eala winning all of those encounters.
That mastery was once again on display in the second set.
Locked at 2-all, Eala unleashed a strong finishing kick, sweeping the last four games to close out the match in just one hour and nine minutes.
Up next for Eala is Uzbek-American veteran Varvara Lepchenko, a former world No. 19 who ousted Australia’s Maddison Inglis, 6-4, 6-1.
Now 39, Lepchenko has been enjoying a late-career resurgence after falling out of the top 300 during a long suspension. She currently sits at No. 122 in the world rankings.
Eala is gunning for her maiden WTA Challenger crown, the second tier of women’s professional tennis just below the WTA Tour.
Her deepest run in a WTA 125 event came earlier this year, when she reached the semifinals of the Workday Canberra International in Australia last January.
