Alex Eala advances to second round of Guadalajara Open

Filipino tennis ace Alex Eala demonstrated resilience as she scored a comeback win following her failed US Open qualifying bid.

The unfazed 19-year-old Eala continued her quest for international glory after drubbing Victoria Hu of United States, 3-6, 7-6(2), 6-4, in the opening round of the Women’s Tennis Professionals or WTA 2024 Guadalajara 125 Open on Tuesday, September 3 (Philippine time).

The young Filipina sustained Hu’s hard serves and blew past the second-set tiebreaker before finding her rhythm in the third frame. She then held serve in the sixth to open her biggest lead of the match which she made sure not to relinquish. 

Eala closed out in the 10th to secure the two-hour, 40 minute win to move into the Round of 16 of the tournament. 

The Rafael Nadal Academy graduate will need to brace herself for a tougher challenge as her win against Hu arranged her a meet with fourth seed and world No. 99 Tatjana Maria of Germany.

Eala and Maria encountered each other three times in WTA tournaments in 2023, with the German beating her in all of their previous matchups.