MANILA, Philippines, February 28 ------ A stint back in the ITF Tour should hopefully be the right step for Alex Eala to regain her confidence and winning ways. The 19-year-old Filipinas made short work of former world No. 62 Rebeka Masarova of Switzerland, 6-4, 6-3, in the opening round of the ITF 1st Empire Women’s Indoor 2025 in Trnava, Slovakia.
Both Eala and Masarova entered the match looking to resuscitate their campaign this season. After reaching the semifinals of the WTA Canberra Challenger to start her year, the world No. 137 Eala has been shown the exit in the qualifiers of two WTA events. Her best performances were making the second round of one ITF 100 event and a WTA Challenger tournament in India.
The 25-year-old Masarova has been in an even deeper pit, falling in the qualifiers of four WTA tournaments and getting the boot in the opening round of two ITF events. Eala came out the sharper of the two on Wednesday at the indoor hardcourt of the TC Empire. Seeded fifth in the $75,000 competition, Eala made sure to open both sets in commanding fashion. She broke Masarova right in the opening game of the match and threatened to pull further away with numerous breakpoint opportunities in the fifth game. Masarova, who fired 10 aces the entire match, managed to keep her serve the rest of the set but Eala still finished her off in the 10th game.
The second set began with the Filipina breaking serve anew to seize control of the match. Eala closed out with another service break in the ninth game to end the match after just an hour and 26 minutes. The Filipina teen standout did not drop her serve the entire match and despite Masarova’s power serving, Eala still managed her Swiss foe, breaking her three times. Eala was back on the court later in the day for doubles action, partnering with Jessika Ponchet of France. The pair, however, suffered a heartbreaking 7-6(5), 5-7, 10-8 defeat to Himeno Sakatsume of Japan and Maria Timofeeva of Russia. For Eala, the road forward will be fraught with danger as she faces fellow 19-year-old Celine Naef in the round of 16.
Formerly ranked 121st in the world and one of Switzerland’s top young players, Naef has made the main draw of Wimbledon and won seven ITF titles. Eala and Naef previously battled in the 2023 WTA Canberra Challenger qualifiers, where Naef prevailed in straight sets. The winner of the Eala-Naef encounter will advance to the quarterfinals against the victor of the match between another young prospect, 20-year-old fourth seed Ella Seidel of Germany, and 27-year-old former world No. 20 Ana Konjuh of Croatia.
Source: rappler.com
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