Alex Eala bucked a second-set stumble to stun fifth seed Jaqueline Adina Cristian of Romania, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (1), 6-2, in the opening round of the W100 Vitoria-Gasteiz International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournament in Spain on Wednesday, July 19 (Thursday in Manila).

Alex Eala needed three hours in edging her Romanian rival to advance to the second round. (From Alex Eala's Facebook page)

The unseeded Eala fought back Cristian’s hard-hitting serves with strong returns, needing three hours to capture the victory and a spot in the second round of the $100,000 tournament.

The triumph arranged the 18-year-old Filipina bet a meeting with Chinese qualifier Mi Tianmi, who also needed an extra set in beating fellow qualifier Gina Feistel of Poland, 7-5, 2-6, 6-4.

After a close opening set that saw her surviving Cristian’s powerful attacks, Eala fell short in the second-set tiebreak that brought the game into a decider.

But Eala was quick to regroup and regain her momentum, dictating the tempo in the third frame en route to the win.

This would be the first time that Eala and Mi would meet in the ITF pro circuit, and the PH bet remains wary despite having the matchup advantage on paper.

Mi is currently ranked No. 840 while Eala is at No. 258.

Meanwhile, Eala and Marina Bassols Ribera of Spain currently compete in the doubles quarterfinal against France’s Estelle Cascino and Latvia’s Marcinkevica.