Alex Eala is not done winning.
Just two days after her history-making title run at the WTA 125 Guadalajara in Mexico, Eala extended her hot streak to seven straight victories by crushing France’s Yasmine Mansouri, 6-0, 6-2, in the opening round of the São Paulo Open on Wednesday morning (Philippine time) at the Villa-Lobos State Park in Brazil.
Seeded third in this WTA 250 event, Eala proved far too strong for Mansouri, who had to go through the qualifiers just to secure a spot in the main draw.
The only moment of danger Eala faced in the opening set came in the very first game, when she fended off three break points before holding serve.
From there, the 20-year-old Filipina shifted gears, dominating the next five games to pocket the opener in just 33 minutes.
Mansouri, 24, risked the embarrassment of a double bagel when Eala raced to a 3-0 lead in the second set.
The world No.380 finally got on the scoreboard in the fourth game, drawing a loud cheer from the pro-Eala crowd, but the brief relief was short-lived.
Eala quickly took control again, winning three of the next four games to seal her place in the second round.
Eala, currently ranked world No.61, never dropped serve throughout the one-hour, ten-minute contest.
Her dominance was underscored by five service breaks and a commanding 65 total points won, compared to just 35 for Mansouri.
Up next is a highly intriguing matchup against former world No.93 Julia Riera of Argentina — their third career meeting.
Riera previously denied Eala a spot in the main draw of the 2024 French Open, rallying for a 4-6, 7-6, 6-4 victory in the final round of qualifying.
But Eala struck back three months later, exacting revenge with a resounding 6-3, 6-1 win over the Argentine at the ITF W100 Cary in North Carolina.
