Alex Eala starts her Asian swing by beating Aliona Falei of Belarus at Jingshan Open, faces Mei Yamaguchi next – BusinessWorld Online
TOP-SEEDED Alexandra “Alex” Eala staved off a second-set resistance from Aliona Falei of Belarus, 6-3, 7-5, for a good start in the WTA125 Jingshan Open at the Jingshan International Tennis Tournament Center in China on Tuesday.
The Filipina ace broke Ms. Falei’s serve and held her own in the extended second set, highlighted by a shutout on the WTA No. 322 Belarusian in the 12th game for the win in one hour and 51 minutes.
Ms. Eala, WTA No. 58, will be up against another lower-ranked opponent in No. 268 Mei Yamaguchi of Japan after her 6-4, 6-1 win against Hong Yi Cody Wong of Hong Kong in the Round of 16
As the highest-ranked player in the short 32-team tourney, the 20-year-old Ms. Eala is the heavy favorite to reign supreme in China but she was nearly dragged to a third-setter test right away after losing steam midway.
Like her 3-0 start to take the first set, Ms. Eala zoomed to another 2-0 blitz in the second but yielded to Ms. Falei’s retaliation that paved the way for a back-and-forth duel until the tiebreaker.
In the end, Ms. Falei’s sloppy plays when it mattered most with 10 overall errors gave Ms. Eala the favor, who only had two faults and netted 39 service points. She also scored 41 returns by breaking the majority of Ms. Falei’s serves, especially late inthe second set rally.
The Jingshan Open serves as Ms. Eala’s first stop in her Asian swing that also includes the WTA125 Suzhou Open on Sept. 29 to Oct. 5 and the Hong Kong Open on Oct. 27 to Nov. 2.
Ms. Eala is hoping to break into the Top 50 world rankings for the first time after a stellar campaign in the Americas capped by being the first Filipina winner in any Grand Slam main draw at the US Open and rising as the first Filipino WTA champion in the W125 Guadalajara Open in Mexico.
Having multiple tournaments closer to home, hopes are also high for the lefty sensation from the Rafael Nadal Academy in Spain to suit up for the Philippine tennis team again in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games this December in Thailand after winning three bronze medals in the 2022 Hanoi SEA Games. — John Bryan Ulanday
