Alex Eala hurdles Sonmez, advances to Round of 16 of Abu Dhabi Open

Alexandra “Alex” Eala advanced to the next round after clinching a 6-4, 6-3 win over Zeynep Sonmez of Türkiye in the Round of 32 of the Abu Dhabi Open on Monday.

She will face 31-year-old Aliaksandra Sasnovich, currently ranked 109th in the world, next in the Round of 16.

The Filipina tennis ace joined the likes of Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia and Janice Tjen of Indonesia, who will be Eala’s teammate in the doubles tournament, as winners on the day.

Eala and Tjen will open their run against Canadian Leylah Fernandez, who has Filipino heritage, and France’s Kristina Mladenovic.

Eala is coming off a historic homecoming, having competed on Philippine soil for the first time at the Philippine Women’s Open. She bowed out in the quarterfinals after falling to eventual champion Camila Osorio.

—JMB, GMA Integrated News