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Eala survives Aussie rival, moves one win away from main draw at Roland Garros

Sports

Eala survives Aussie rival, moves one win away from main draw at Roland Garros

By Kristel Satumbaga-Villar

At A Glance

Alex Eala dug deep to turn back Taylah Preston of Australia, 4-6, 6-4, 7-5, and advance to the third qualifying round of the 2024 Roland Garros on Wednesday, May 22.

Alex Eala dug deep to turn back Taylah Preston of Australia, 4-6, 6-4, 7-5, and advance to the third qualifying round of the 2024 Roland Garros on Wednesday, May 22.

Alex Eala inches closer to the main draw of the Roland Garros after a second-round victory in the qualifying round. (File Photo)

Down 2-4 in the deciding set, the Filipina blasted her higher-ranked rival with strong returns to move a win away from making into the main draw of the Grand Slam event.

She next faces world No. 93 Julia Riera of Argentina, who dumped hometown bet Harmony Tan, 6-3, 6-2.

Still in cloud nine over her first Grand Slam match victory against Ma Ye Xin of China in the opening round, 6-1, 6-1, the world No. 160 Eala held her composure against the 30th seed Preston in the match that lasted 2 hours and 22 minutes.

The 18-year-old Filipina tennis sensation stumbled in the opening frame after the Australian pulled away from a 4-all deadlock en route to the set victory.

But Eala returned more determined in the second set, crawling her way from a 2-4 deficit by claiming the next four games to extend the match into a decider.

She trailed Preston once again, but bounced back by winning three straight games to grab the 5-4 upperhand.

Preston refused to give up the fight and broke Eala’s serve to tie the game at 5, before the Filipino broke back for the match win.

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Alex Eala Roland Garros

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