Alex Eala regrouped after a grueling first set to eventually dominate Romania’s Laura Ioana Paar, 6(6)-7, 6-1, 6-0, in the second round of the 2021 ITF World Tennis Tour W60 tournament, Thursday morning (Manila time) in Bellinzona, Switzerland.
The 15-year-old used that momentum she gained in the second set to get ahead in the deciding set and never looked back. Paar threatened to extend the match a little further, but Eala would not allow it, taking that sixth and final game with a huge comeback from a 0-40 deficit.
Eala started the match strong, taking a 3-1 at the onset. However, the Romanian got her bearings right away and turned the set into a battle and pushed it into a tiebreak.
Paar opened up a 3-0 lead in the tiebreak before the Filipino drew level at 6. The Romanian then took the next point on her serve and then consolidated it with a mini-break to end the set in her favor.
Eala, nonetheless, found her groove in the second set turning most of her serves into valuable points with 67 percent of her first serves getting in and winning nine of them.
Paar, on the other hand, struggled on her serves, lending the 2019 Australian Open juniors doubles champion ample time for a winning return.
Eala will take on hometown bet and wildcard entry Simona Walbert in the Round of 16 on Thursday in this southern Swiss municipality.
