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Eala advances to second round in French tourney

Sports

Eala advances to second round in French tourney

By Kristel Satumbaga-Villar

At A Glance

Alex Eala returned to action with a bang after advancing to the second round of the W75 Croissy-Beaubourg International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournament in France on Tuesday, March 26.

Alex Eala returned to action with a bang after advancing to the second round of the W75 Croissy-Beaubourg International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournament in France on Tuesday, March 26.

Alex Eala books a second round berth after beating her French rival. (File Photo/Alex Eala Facebook)

The 18-year-old top Filipina tennis player trounced wildcard bet Emeline Dartron of France, 6-3, 6-4, to barge into the second round of the $75,000 event.

Eala dictated the tempo throughout the match, breaking Dartron’s serve three times while holding her own to set up her next meeting with unseeded Mona Barthel of Germany.

Though Eala boasts of a higher ranking at No. 171 compared to her rival’s No. 284, Barthel is coming off a morale-boosting 7-5, 6-4 upset triumph over fourth seed Sachia Vickery of the United States.

Barthel is also expected to lean on her wide experience, having won 11 ITF singles titles -- the latest in last year’s W25 Ortisei in Italy.

She ranked as high as No. 23 in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings and went on to have multiple Grand Slam appearances, with her best finish a fourth-round feat at the 2017 Australian Open.

But Eala is banking on her latest endeavour at the prestigious Miami Open, a WTA1000 event, where she stunned former world No. 3 Sara Errani of Italy before yielding in the second qualifying round.

Meanwhile, she is also scheduled to compete in the doubles with hometown bet Estelle Cascino where they face Switzerland’s Celine Naef and India’s Prathana G Thombare in the opening round.

Eala is looking at fifth pro singles title and first this year.

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