By MARK REY MONTEJO
Filipina idol Alex Eala seeks a strong start when she takes on world No. 45 Polish Magdalena Frech in the opening round of the WTA 1000 Italian Open in Rome Wednesday, May 6.
Coming off a week-long break after her quick exit at WTA 1000 Mutua Madrid Open, Eala, 20, resumes her clay-court campaign with hopes of regaining her winning ways against the former No. 22 Frech in their first-ever encounter in the women’s professional circuit.
Both players are proud winners of Guadalajara Open in Mexico, with Eala winning it last year.
Match time between Eala and Frech, however, is yet to be finalized but they are expected to go all-out after coming off similar Round-of-64 defeats, with Eala falling to Belgian Elise Mertens, 2-6, 1-6, while Frech was upset by Argentina’s Solana Sierra, 2-6, 4-6.
If Eala prevails over the more experienced Frech, she could set up a rematch with China’s Xinyu Wang, who received a first-round bye.
Wang bested the charming Filipina lefty, 7-5, 5-7, 4-6, in the semifinals of the WTA 250 ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand. The Chinese then bowed to eventual champion Ukrainian Elina Svitolina by absorbing a 6-3, 7-6 ( 8 ) finals loss.
The Southeast Asian Games multi-medalist is looking to eclipse her run on Italian soil after absorbing a 0-6, 1-6 Round-of-128 loss to Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk.
In doubles, Eala and partner Coco Gauff reached the quarters.
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