MANILA, June 9 ------ Four days after she claimed the W25 Yecla title in Spain, Filipino third seed Alex Eala rallied to a 6-3, 7-6(8) victory over American Jessica Failla in the first round of the W25 Madrid. Eala, 18, is the WTA World No. 266 with three ITF women’s singles championships while the 25-year-old Failla is ranked 464th with two professional doubles crowns.
Their clash on the outdoor hard court of Ciudad Raqueta began with Eala taking a 2-0 lead after holding serve at 40-15 then breaking serve to love. Failla broke back on her fifth opportunity due to a double fault, and the players traded breaks until the American held to level at 3-3. Eala won the next three games, 6-3, but had to save three break points before sealing the first set with an ace, her second of four match aces.
Failla earned a 2-0 edge in the second set due to a double fault, and Eala brought the next game to deuce and broke back courtesy of a double fault as well. Upon reaching 3-3, the players were unable to hold serve until the second-set tiebreak. Eala broke in the seventh game after five deuces, while Failla equalized at 5-5 after saving two match points while the Filipino was serving at 5-4. In the 12th game, Eala served for the win for the second time and gained three more match points, but Failla persisted and converted her second break point to force a tiebreak. Eala narrowly led at 2-0 and 3-1 before Failla caught up and advanced to 4-3 and 6-5. The tiebreak reached 6-6 after the American committed a double fault on her first set point.
This was followed by Failla’s sixth double fault, which yielded match point No. 6 to Eala. The Filipino, however, squandered it with her ninth double fault of the match. After Failla earned her second set point at 8-7, Eala responded with two mini-breaks to zoom to 9-8. The Rafa Nadal Academy player from the Philippines finally nailed the win, 7-6(8), on her seventh match point.
Eala, the 2022 US Open Juniors singles champion, will see action in the second round against another American, 23-year-old qualifier Alana Smith. The World No. 808 had a much easier triumph in the opening round over 16-year-old lucky loser Maria de la Paz Alberto of Spain, 6-0, 6-0. The W25 Madrid, also called the ITF Villa de Madrid Copa Volvo, offers $25,000 in prize money.
Source: news.abs-cbn.com
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