Alex Eala kicks off Stuttgart Open bid vs Leylah Fernandez

MANILA, Philippines, April 13 ------ Alex Eala hopes to end a string of round-of-16 exits when she plunges back into action at the Stuttgart Open in Germany.

Interestingly, Eala will begin her campaign against Canadian World No. 25 Leylah Fernandez, who has Filipino descent, with her mother being a Filipino-Canadian. The 23-year-old Fernandez reached a career-high ranking of No. 14 and was the runner-up in the 2021 US Open. She also has five WTA Tour titles under her belt.

The 20-year-old Eala and Fernandez had already faced each other before, but only in doubles at the Abu Dhabi Open last February. Eala teamed up with Indonesian star Janice Tjen to beat Fernandez and Kristina Mladenovic, 7-5, 3-6, 10-6, in the first round. The Rafa Nadal Academy product is coming off round of 16 exits in the Linz Open, Miami Open, and Indian Wells. Eala took a tough loss against World No. 23 Jelena Ostapenko, 6-4, 7-5, on Wednesday in Linz despite holding a 4-2 edge in the first set and leading, 5-1, in the second.

Source: inquirer.net