Alex Eala boots out local bet, advances to second round of $25k tilt in France

Alex Eala proved she belongs in the women's circle as she moved on to the second phase of the W25 Joue les Tour, beating French netter Jenny Lim in the opening round on Wednesday night in France.

The Filipina teen tennis sensation, who had seen action in four other tournaments this year, eked out a quick 6-1, 6-4 victory over the wildcard participant Lim to book a ticket to the second round.

Eala, however, will be facing a tall task moving forward.

The 16-year-old Philippine bet will next square off with a familiar foe — and partner— in Oksana  Selekhmeteva of Russia whom she scooped the 2021 French Open girl doubles title with.

Eala and Selekhmeteva have also faced each other last year when the Russian wunderkind edged the Filipina during the quarterfinals of the W15 Manacor Tournament in February with a  6-2, 6-3 win.

Eala is looking to surpass her best finish this year so far, which came during the W60 Grenoble, where she reached the second round but fell to Chloe Pacquet of France. — LA, GMA News