Alex Eala sweeps Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to launch Madrid Open run

Alex Eala returned to the clay court with renewed tenacity, dominating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia, 6-3, 6-3, in the Round of 128 of the WTA1000 Madrid Open on Wednesday in Spain.

The 20-year-old Filipina tennis star, who suffered an early exit at the Stuttgart Open, will next take on Elise Mertens in the Round of 64.

World No. 44 Alex Eala fell behind early as the 34-year-old Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova surged to a 2–1 lead, but the Filipina quickly responded by taking the next two games to seize her first advantage in the opening set.

The Russian’s bid hit a snag after she called for a medical timeout, and Eala capitalized by winning three of the next four games, including Game 9, which she sealed with a Pavlyuchenkova double fault.

Eala then raced to a pivotal 3–1 lead to open the second set before Pavlyuchenkova held her own to keep her hopes alive. But Eala showed no let-up, sweeping the next two games to move within a point of victory at 5–2.

Pavlyuchenkova, who currently ranks No. 116 in the world, saved one game after torching Eala with two aces to win the eighth game. 

However, Eala gave Pavlyuchenkova a taste of her own medicine, unleashing a powerful serve that the Russian could not return as the Pinay ace sealed the straight-sets sweep to advance to the Round of 64.

—JKC, GMA News