By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Alex Eala survived a gritty challenge from Aliona Falei to pull off a 6-3, 7-5 victory and advance to the Round of 16 of the Jingshan Tennis Open in China on Tuesday, Sept. 23.
Tied at 3-all in the second set, the top-seeded Filipina had to dig deeper to avoid a deciding third set.
Tension started to build up after both players exchanged service breaks in the next five games before Eala eventually held her serve to seal the match in this Women’s Tennis Association (WTA125) tournament.
The win set Eala a second-round clash for Eala against the winner between unseeded Japanese Mei Yamaguchi and Hong Kong’s Hong Yi Cody Wong, who were playing at presstime.
Eala came out strong, blitzing her way to a 4-0 lead en route to claiming the opening set.
But Falei found her rhythm midway through the second set, breaking Eala’s serve in the sixth game to spark a back-and-forth contest.
Eventually, the Belarusian began to lose steam, paving for Eala to regain control to close out the match with a stronger finish.
The world No. 58 Eala seeks a second WTA crown after clinching her breakthrough title at the Guadalajara Open in Mexico early this month.
