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.

The 20-year-old Filipina tennis ace started off strong, racing to a 3-1 lead in the opening set before the Turkish bet won the next two games to tie things up. Eala then soared to the set point at 5-3, but the 23-year-old Sonmez took advantage of a double fault from his Filipina counterpart to win the next game and remain alive in the set.

Eala, though, built an early 40-15 lead in Game 10 before Sonmez' error sealed it for the Filipina world no. 45.

Once again up 5-3 in Set 2, Eala had to buck another fightback from Sonmez, whose strong forehand to the corner forced a deuce in Game 9. But Sonmez, who currently ranks no. 79 in WTA, failed to replicate the same play in the next sequence as Eala secured the advantage point.

Sonmez then went wide on her forehand attack that ultimately sealed the deal for Eala. 

She will face 31-year-old Aliaksandra Sasnovich, currently ranked 109th, 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