MANILA, Philippines, September 9 ------ Alex Eala looks for a better showing in Mexico this week after the Filipina tennis standout put herself in a position to earn another career milestone. The 19-year-old needed just 53 minutes to prevail over Fanny Stollar of Hungary, 6-1, 6-2, in the opening round of the qualifiers of the 2024 Guadalajara Open Akron at the Panamerican Tennis Center.
Just last week, Eala exited in the second round of a Challenger event, the WTA Guadalajara 125 Open, after losing for the fourth time to former Wimbledon semifinalist Tatjana Maria of Germany. This week, Eala has a chance to qualify for the main draw of a WTA 500 event for the first time in her career.
Eala was all business from the opening serve, immediately opening a 4-0 advantage in the first set to stamp her imprint in the match. The 25-year-old Stollar got herself some reprieve when she broke Eala in the fifth game to get on the scoreboard. But that would be her only chance to score as Eala swept the next two games. The second set saw Eala’s dominance against a foe known more for her exploits in doubles. She broke the Hungarian twice while never dropping her serve to finish the set in just 26 minutes.
Eala will next face another doubles specialist in the last round of the qualifiers, Samantha Dawn Murray Sharan of Great Britain. The 36-year-old Murray Sharan downed Julia Riera of Argentina, 7-6(5), 7-5, in the qualifying first round. Last May, Riera prevented Eala from claiming a spot in the French Open main draw when she downed the Filipina in three sets. A victory by Eala over Murray Sharan will give her the opportunity to join a stellar cast in the main draw which includes 2017 French Open champion Jeļena Ostapenko of Latvia, 2022 Australian Open finalist Danielle Collins of the United States, recent US Open semifinalist Emma Navarro of the US, and two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka of Belarus.
Eala has previously qualified to the main draw of three WTA 250 events, all in 2023 — the Japan Women’s Open in Osaka, the Guangzhou Open in China, and the Jasmin Open in Tunisia. She played in the WTA 500 Abu Dhabi last February as a wildcard entry.
Source: rappler.com
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