Alex Eala ousts Dutch foe, advances to round-of-16 in Portugal

MANILA, April 16 ------ Filipina tennis star Alex Eala is through to the round-of-16 of the Oeiras Ladies Open after taking down Anouk Koevermans of the Netherlands in Oeiras, Portugal. Eala, the No. 1 seed in the WTA125 tournament, came away with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Koevermans, who is ranked No. 182 by the WTA. Aside from her opponent, Eala also had to overcome a rain delay as their match was suspended for several hours.  

The Filipina trailed 2-4 in the second set when the match was paused but regained control upon resumption to avoid the upset. "I'm happy that we were able to get the matches rolling again," said Eala afterward. "Definitely some challenges, I'm happy how I came back out on the court." 

Eala is coming off a historic campaign in the Miami Open, where she reached the semifinals and eliminated three former Grand Slam champions including four-time French Open winner Iga Swiatek. The clay courts present a different challenge but Eala says she has done "everything that I can do" to prepare for the new surface. "I cannot control the outcome, but I can control my level on the court," said Eala, who received a boost from Filipinos in the crowd.  "There are Filipinos everywhere in the world, so I'm happy," she added. 

Source: news.abs-cbn.com