MANILA – Filipina tennis sensation Alexandra Eala has moved on to the round-of-16 of the Oeiras Ladies Open after a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Anouk Koevermans of the Netherlands on Tuesday night (Philippine time) in Portugal.
The world No. 72 ranked Eala’s match against Koevermans actually started on Monday evening (Philippine time) but was delayed until the next day due to torrential rain in the venue.
Eala successfully navigated a slow start against her 182nd ranked opponent in the opening set, where she lost her serve in both the third and fifth games, resulting in an early deficit.
In both cases, the 19-year-old Eala quickly regained her footing by breaking back to level the score at 3-3. She then did not allow her opponent to gain any further momentum, winning the next three games to secure the first set at 6-3.
The second set presented another challenge for Eala, as she found herself down 1-3 after losing her serve again in the fourth game and trail 2-4 when the game resume on Tuesday.
Upon resumption, Eala took command of the set, breaking Koevermans’ serve in the seventh game to equalize at 4-4, and then breaking the Dutch player again in the ninth game to eventually end the match in one hour and 26 minutes.
This marks the 5-foot-9 Eala’s first tournament appearance since her breakout semifinals performance at the Miami Open, which propelled her to a career-high WTA ranking.
Eala is set to progress to the next round, where she will face the winner of the match between former world No. 76 Hungarian veteran Panna Udvardy and a qualifier.
Meanwhile, in doubles event, Eala will partner with American Katie Volynets, whom she previously defeated in the first round of the Miami Open.
Eala and Volynets, who are unseeded in doubles, will compete against the fourth-seeded duo of Carmen Corley and Christina Rosca from the United States on Wednesday./PN
