Alex Eala grinds out win vs. Aliona Falei in Jingshan Tennis Open Round of 32

Top-seeded Alex Eala overcame a huge challenge from Aliona Falei of Belarus to eke out a 6-3, 7-5 victory in the Round of 32 at the Jingshan Tennis Open in China on Tuesday.  

The Filipina tennis star fended off multiple fightbacks from 21-year-old Falei before claiming the victory that sent her to the Round of 16 against either Japan's Mei Yamaguchi or Hong Kong's Hong Yi Cody Wong.  

READ MORE | Alex Eala vs Aliona Falei — Jingshan Tennis Open Live Updates

After a dominant first set victory, the 20-year-old Eala figured in a tight Set 2 with Falei, whom she had never faced before.  

Falei, who ranks no. 322 in the WTA rankings, gave Eala a tough time as she forced a 3-all deadlock in the crucial second frame before the Pinay bet took a pivotal 5-4 lead. 

But Falei continued to crawl back and tied things up anew at 5-all before Eala made quick work of her in the next game to secure the match point. 

Eala then cruised to a huge 30-0 lead in Game 12 and unleashed back-to-back strong serves that forced Falei to commit two attack errors en route to the Philippine bet's sweep victory.

—JMB, GMA Integrated News