MANILA, Philippines, August 16 ------ This week in North Carolina, Alex Eala appears to have embarked on a revenge tour even as she readies herself for the US Open qualifiers which will begin next week. For the second straight match, Eala exacted some sweet payback on a friend and familiar foe that she had lost to multiple times in the past. The 19-year-old pulled off a pulsating 7-6(5), 7-6(4) triumph over her former doubles partner Oksana Selekhmeteva of Russia to advance to the quarterfinal round of the ITF W100 Cary Tennis Classic in the United States.
The world No. 147 Eala seemed on her way to a straight-set victory in the round of 16 when she erected a 4-1 lead in the second set against Selekhmeteva, who partnered with the Filipina during their girls doubles title romp in the 2021 French Open. Selekhmeteva, who achieved a career-high world ranking of 138 in 2022, stormed back by claiming the next three games to draw level at 4-4.
The next four games resulted in service breaks which led to another tiebreak. From an even 4-4 count, Eala swept the next three points to claim the match in two hours and nine minutes. The first set set the tone for the tightly contested encounter. Eala led most of the way and served for the set while up 5-3. But the 21-year-old Russian found a higher gear and broke Eala twice to take the lead for the first time at 6-5.
Eala came back with a service break to send the opening set to a tiebreak, which she eventually won after an hour and four minutes. Eala and Selekhmeteva share a long history together. Aside from their 2021 French Open title run, the pair also finished runner-up in the 2021 W25 Platja D’ Aro in Spain, Eala’s first doubles event and finals appearance in the pro tour. Selekhmeteva previously held a 3-0 advantage over Eala in their singles head-to-head matchups.
On Tuesday, Eala blasted Julia Riera of Argentina in the opening round, 6-3, 6-1. Last May, Eala was a win away from making history and earning a spot in a Grand Slam event, but Riera spoiled her bid as the Argentine won in three sets in the French Open final qualifying round. Eala will now advance to her second quarterfinals in two weeks in an ITF $100,000 event after also reaching the last eight of the Koser Jewelers Tennis Challenge in Landisville, Pensylvania.
The Filipina teen will gun for a semifinal berth when she faces the winner of the match between second seed Renata Zarazua of Mexico and Sijia Wei of China.
Source: rappler.com
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