June 30 ------ ALEX Eala, WTA 337th, was quick to make her presence felt in the W25 Palma del Rio, winning both her opening matches in singles and doubles play on Wednesday morning, Manila time. The 17-year-old Filipina defeated Chile's Jimar Geraldine Gerald Gonzalez, 6-2, 6-0, to start strong in the solo series.
Moving to the second round, Eala awaits her opponent, the winner between second-seeded Jessika Ponchet of France, and Russian Valeria Savinyk. This $25,000 stint is already her 12th professional tournament this year as she continues to look for her third title in the Women's after her first trophy in W15 Manacor in 2021, and then again in W25 Chiang Rai last April.
In the doubles, Eala partnered with home bet Marina Bassols Ribera, who defeated her last week to claim the W60 Madrid title. The Filipino and Spanish tennisters swept the pair of Adriana Cortes and Patricia Carretero, both from Spain, 6-0, 6-0, in the first round of the doubles to make their way to the quarterfinals. Eala and Ribera, fourth-seeded, will next face USA's Ashely Lahey and Spain's Marta Huqi Gonzales Encinas.
Source: spin.ph