Alex Eala bucked a slow start and turned back Ekaterina Kazionova, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, to advance to the second round of the W60 Hamburg International Tennis Federation (ITF) event in Germany Tuesday, Oct. 18.
It was a tough match for Eala, who needed two hours and 44 minutes in edging her Russian foe to arrange a meeting with Belgian top seed Ysaline Bonaventure
Bonaventure displayed her might by thumping Croatia’s Jana Fett, 6-4, 6-4.
Locked at 4-all in the second set, Eala regained her composure by holding her serve and breaking Kazionova to clinch the set victory and level the match.
Kazionova showed her experience in the third after trimming her 5-1 deficit to 5-4, but Eala held her ground and broke the Russian’s serve to snare the match win.
Eala expects a tougher match against Bonaventure, who was 11 years her senior and a fellow left-hander.
Ranked No. 118 compared to Eala’s No. 248, Bonaventure boasts of 12 ITF titles including the W60+H Bendigo in Australia last January.
The Belgian also had five Grand Slam appearances, with her best finish a Round of 64 in the 2020 US Open.