WASTING no time impressing in her second home, Alex Eala beat Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 6-3, 6-3, in the opening round of the 2026 Madrid Open at Caja Magica in Spain on Wednesday night, Manila time.
It was the 20-year-old’s second win on the surface across three tournaments, following her round-of-32 victory in the Linz Open.
READ Alex Eala climbs to No. 44 in world rankings
The win over the former world No. 11 brings her clay-court record to 2-2 across events in Linz, Stuttgart, and Madrid.
Eala, a graduate of the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca, secured the opening set after turning a slow start into a 3-2 advantage, then carried the margin through 4-2 and 5-3.
In the second set, Eala started stronger, taking the first game and maintaining control at 5-2 before serving out the match, 6-3, in one hour and 31 minutes.
She now moves on to the Round of 64, where she will face Elise Mertens, the world No. 1 doubles player.
The Belgian star received a first-round bye as the 19th seed.
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