By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Alex Eala is facing a familiar rival in the second round of the Mutua Madrid Open after a dominant 6-3, 6-3 victory over veteran qualifier Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova on Wednesday night, April 22 (Philippine time).
The win, which saw the unseeded Filipina ace come out blazing against her seasoned yet lower-ranked Russian rival, set up a duel with world No. 21 Elise Mertens, who received an opening round bye.
Eala and Pavlyuchenkova went toe-to-toe in the early exchanges, holding serve through the opening games before the Filipina seized control. She struck first with a crucial break in the fifth game to grab a 3-2 advantage, then rode that momentum to hold serve,
Eala tightened the screws late, striking again in the ninth game to seal the opening set.
Pavlyuchenkova refused to fade, though. After dropping serve to trail 1-3 in the second, the Russian responded with a timely break to cut the gap to 2-3.
Eala quickly restored order, reeling off the next two games to reassert control. Pavlyuchenkova showed brief resistance in the eighth, but the Filipina kept her composure and shut the door in the next game to complete the straight-sets victory.
Against Mertens, Eala expects a challenging battle.
Three years ago, a then 17-year-old Eala crossed paths with Mertens at the Jasmin Open Monastir in Tunisia, a WTA 250 event, where the Filipina battled through two qualifying matches only to lose to the Belgian in the main draw opener.
But Eala has come a long way since their first meeting, climbing to world No. 44.
Still the 30-year-old Mertens brings a wealth of experience. Now the world No. 1 player in doubles, she owns six Grand Slam doubles titles, most recently at the 2026 Australian Open alongside Zhang Shuai.
In singles, Mertens has also made her mark, reaching the semifinals of the 2018 Australian Open and compiling a 77-36 record in Grand Slam main draw matches.
While Eala awaits her singles schedule, she and Zeynep Sonmez are opening their doubles campaign as of press time with Chan Hao-ching and Fanny Stollar.
This is Eala’s first doubles match since the Indian Wells Masters last March where she and Iva Jovic lost the first round to seasoned players Jelena Ostapenko and Hailey Baptiste.
