Alex Eala beats Arianne Hartono to open Guadalajara 125 campaign

Alex Eala defeated Arianne Hartono of the Netherlands, 6-2, 6-2, on early Wednesday (Philippine time) to commence her campaign at the Guadalajara 125 Open in Mexico.

Eala, currently ranked No. 75 in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings, is the second seed in the tournament. Hartono, 29, is currently ranked No. 187.

The Filipina tennis ace claimed the victory as she pulled away from a 2-all tie in the second set and closed the match after an hour and nine minutes.

In the first set, Eala took an early 3-1 lead before Hartono won the fifth game. However, Eala bounced back and claimed the next three games to take the set.

Eala will face 39-year-old American Varvara Lepchenko next in the Round of 16.

This is Eala's second tournament since returning from injury, and her first since making history in the US Open where she became the first Filipino to win a Grand Slam main draw match. However, her run there was halted in the second round by Cristina Bucsa of Spain.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News