Alex Eala makes Round of 16 in Wimbledon warm-up

July 2 ------ Filipina teen tennis sensation Alex Eala proved she is adjusting well on the grass court as she nailed a third round berth in the J1 Roehampton tournament on Thursday, July 1 in London. Eala demolished Italy's Matilde Paoletti, 6-2, 6-0, in the second round of the girls singles event. The tournament No. 2 seed is set to face next 18-year-old German Mara Guth, who has lost twice to Eala in previous meetings.

But in the girls doubles event, Eala and Indonesian partner Priska Nugroho fell to Czech Republic's Barbora Palicova and Radka Zelnickova in a 6-4, 6-4, loss. The Eala-Nugroho pair was seeded No. 2 in the event, bolstered by their 2020 Australian Open juniors doubles triumph, their maiden Slam title.

The 16-year-old Filipina ace will be making her Wimbledon debut in the juniors tournament that will be staged from July 5 to 11 in London. She is coming off a 2021 French Open girls doubles title romp and aiming to bag her third Grand Slam title. Eala also made history in the 2020 French Open where she became the first Filipino in 35 years since Felix Barrientos in the 1985 Wimbledon tournament to make the last four of a Grand Slam juniors singles event. At 15 years old, Eala became a pro titlist in the women's $15,000 tournament in Manacor, Spain at the start of the year.

Source: rappler.com