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Alex Eala edges French foe in first round of Swiss tourney

Sports

Alex Eala edges French foe in first round of Swiss tourney

By Kristel Satumbaga-Villar

Alex Eala survived an opening-set scare before besting lucky loser Margot Yerolymos of France, 7-6 (6), 6-2, in the opening round of the W60 Bellinzona in Switzerland Tuesday night, April 6.

Eala overcame her erratic service game in the first set to defeat 23-year-old Yerolymos and advance to the second round of her first $60,000 tournament.

The 15-year-old Filipina rising star held her ground in the two-hour match despite struggling with nine of her 12 double faults in the opening frame, including two at the tiebreak.

READ: Alex Eala improves to career-high pro ranking ahead of Swiss tourney

She arranged a second-round meeting with 12^th seed Laura-Ioana Paar of Romania, who earned an opening-round bye.

Eala dropped her serve twice in the first set and gained the momentum at the tiebreak, clawing her way from a 3-2 deficit to a 5-3 lead en route to the set victory.

She dictated the tempo in the second frame by cruising to a 3-0 lead before Yerolymos broke her serve in the fourth game.

But Eala was quick to recover, maintaining her pace by winning the last three games from a 3-2 lead.

Meanwhile, the 32-year-old Paar is no stranger to Eala when they meet in the second round after clashing in the first round of the W25 Grenoble in France last February.

Eala won that match, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.

Related Tags

Alex Eala international tennis federation margot yerolymos W60 Bellinzona laura-ioana paar

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