Alex Eala had a rough debut last year at the Italian Open, also known as the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, where she managed just one game against Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine before exiting in the opening round.
World No. 42 Eala made sure she finally broke through in Rome in dramatic fashion, rallying in the deciding set to defeat World No. 45 Magdalena Fręch of Poland, 6-0, 2-6, 6-4, in the opening round at the Pietrangeli clay court in Foro Italico on Tuesday.
The 20-year-old Eala could do no wrong in the opening set, which she took in just 27 minutes.
She broke Fręch three times and never faced a break point en route to a dominant 6-0 start.
But if Eala thought the 28-year-old Fręch — the second-highest ranked Polish player in women’s tennis next to World No. 3 Iga Świątek — would go away easily, she was mistaken.
Fręch responded with a strong run in the second set, racing to a 3-0 lead.
Although Eala cut the deficit to 3-2, Fręch held her composure and closed out the next three games to level the match at one set apiece.
The deciding set saw both players trade impressive winners in a high-quality display of tennis.
Fręch, who had been on a five-match losing streak dating back to the WTA 500 Mérida final in early March, continued her momentum in the third set by breaking Eala in the opening game and holding serve for a 2-0 lead.
The Polish veteran stayed in control at 3-1, but Eala mounted a comeback, winning the next three games before Fręch broke back to level at 4-4.
That set the stage for the most gripping stretch of the match. Eala held serve in a marathon ninth game that went to four deuces to move ahead 5-4, then broke Fręch in the next game to seal the victory after two hours and nine minutes.
The win sends Eala into the second round of the WTA 1000 event and sets up a chance for payback against World No. 33 Wang Xinyu of China.
Wang defeated Eala in the semifinals of the WTA 250 ASB Classic in New Zealand last January.
The winner of their rematch could potentially face World No. 2 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan in the third round.
