MANILA, Philippines, October 21 ------ It wasn’t easy, it wasn’t pretty, but a win is a win. Alex Eala finally notched a victory after going through a string of losses, prevailing in three sets over hometown bet Gao Xinyu, 6-2, 6-7 (3-7), 6-2, in the opening round of the WTA Guangzhou Open qualifiers on Sunday, October 20, at the center court of the Nansha International Tennis Center in China.
It was a much-needed confidence boost for the world No. 148 Eala, whose last win in the pro tour was in the final qualifying round of the WTA 500 Guadalajara Open in Mexico last September 9. She was booted out by world No. 45 Marie Bouzkova in the opening round of the main draw, 6-2, 6-2. This was followed by two quick exits in China in the first round of the WTA 1000 Wuhan Open main draw and the opening qualifying round of the WTA 250 Ningbo Open. The 19-year-old Eala immediately showed her determination to put an end to her slump by breaking Gao in the very first game of the opening set. Eala held serve the entire first set while breaking Gao twice to surge ahead in the match with a 6-2 win.
The second set saw the protagonists engage in a tight battle with neither one dropping serve. The 26-year-old Gao, however, got off to a 3-0 lead in the tiebreak and repeatedly fended off Eala’s attempt to inch closer. The Chinese pocketed the second set to even the match. The third set proved to be anti-climatic and the shortest among the three sets, with Eala surging to a 4-0 lead and needing just 46 minutes to claim the decider and finish the match after 2 hours and 57 minutes.
To gain entry to the main draw which features world No. 40 Magda Linette of Poland and two players whom Eala recently lost to, Czech Republic’s Bouzkova and Katerina Siniakova, the Filipina teen standout needs to overcome fellow teen Elena Pridankina of Russia on Monday, October 21. The world no. 182 Pridankina scored the biggest shocker on Sunday when she dominated in straight sets the highest ranked player in the qualifiers, world No. 91 Yulia Starodubtseva of Ukraine, 6-1, 6-1.
Source: rappler.com
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