Three Southeast Asian stars advance to Wimbledon second round ahead of Alex Eala's opener

Before Alex Eala begins her Wimbledon campaign, three Southeast Asian tennis stars have already advanced to the second round, giving the region an encouraging start at the year's third Grand Slam.

Janice Tjen of Indonesia and two Thai players, Mananchaya Sawangkaew and Lanlana Tararudee all impressed in their first matches to reach the next phase.

The 24-year-old Tjen stunned world no. 24 Leylah Fernandez with a stunning 6-1, 7-6 victory while Sawangkaew pulled off a 2-6, 7-5, 6-2 comeback win against 20th-seeded Maja Chwalinska of Poland. Both Tjen and Sawangkaew are familiar faces to the Filipino tennis community as they have previously either teamed up or competed against Eala.

Meanwhile, 21-year-old Tararudee, who currently ranks no. 99 in the world, survived Austrian star Lilli Tagger with a grueling 7(7)-6, 5-7, 6-4 win.

World no. 42 Tjen will next face Daria Kasatkina while Sawangkaew and Tararudee will take on Alycia Parks and Ekaterina Alexndrova, respectively, in the Round of 64.

Filipina star Alex Eala looks to add to Southeast Asia's stellar run when she locks horns with Renata Zarazua later today.

—JMB, GMA News