By MARK REY MONTEJO
Alex Eala showed grit in the opening set and beat American Hailey Baptiste who retired in the second set of their round of 64 clash at the WTA 1000 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in the United Arab Emirates late Sunday night, Feb. 15.
Eala, 20, overcame a sluggish start, breaking a 2-2 deadlock before unleashing a series of superb groundstrokes on the way to a 6-4, 0-1 (ret) win over her American rival.
Tthe highly anticipated duel ended prematurely when the 24-year-old Baptiste appeared to have suffered an abdominal injury, forcing her to exit the match.
The win witnessed by wildly-cheering Filipino expats and even local fans, set Eala up a round of 32 duel against world No. 8 and competition’s No. 6 seed Italian Jasmine Paolini, who received an early bye in the opener.
“I’m sure happy to be in the next round. These tournaments are such a great experience for me, especially playing in front of the best crowd ever,” Eala said. “I will do my best to try [and] enjoy every moment I have on court.”
This will mark the first-ever meeting on the WTA Tour between Eala and Paolini, the ruler of last year’s French Open women’s doubles crown with fellow Italian Sara Errani.
It was also the second time that No. 40 Eala eliminated No. 39 Baptiste after the former carved out a 6-7(7), 7-6(7), 6-1 escape to barge into the main draw of the WTA 250 Lexus Eastbourne Open in Great Britain last June.
However, Eala admitted she wasn’t so happy with her kind of win, acknowledging how tough it is to stay healthy on the ultra-competitive WTA Tour and extending her well wishes to Hailey Baptiste for a speedy recovery.
“Obviously, no one likes advancing this way [and] being on tour I’m starting to discover really at this level how different it is to maintain your health physically,” said Eala moments after the game.
“I really hope Hailey [Baptiste] is okay and will bounce back soon,” she added.
With a week of respite after a quick exit in also a WTA 100 event, the Qatar Open in Doha, Eala needed to shake off some jitters after she struggled early to Baptiste, trailing to a 1-2 deficit.
The Filipina netter then rediscovered her form after converting two break points in the 5th and 7th of the opening frame to seize 4-3 edge before winning two of the next three games.
Baptiste staged a brief comeback, claiming the first game of the second set in a tense exchange featuring multiple deuces and break points.
Unfortunately, the American suffered a stomach injury, ending what was shaping up to be another dogfight.
