KEEPING her clay-court campaign rolling, world No. 42 Alex Eala booked a spot in the Round of 32 of the Italian Open after a gritty 6-4, 6-3 win over world No. 33 Wang Xinyu on Friday night, Manila Time.
The Filipina rising star sustained her resurgence on clay as she overcame a higher-ranked opponent for her first-ever third-round appearance in the prestigious WTA 1000 tournament in Rome.
READ Alex Eala survives tricky test from Frech
With her fifth win in eight matches in the clay season, Eala advanced to the Round of 32, where she’ll be awaiting the winner of the match between world No. 2 Elena Rybakina and Maria Sakkari.
Eala entered the match seeking redemption after Wang beat her in their first meeting earlier this season in Auckland.This time the 20-year-old showed poise and maturity in turning the tables on the hard-hitting Chinese standout.
Down 0-3, Eala fought back to tie it at 3-3 before she turned the tables around by winning consecutive games to take the first set, 6-4.
Riding the momentum, Eala dictated the pace early against the 31st seed and from 3-3, broke loose to win the match in an hour and 26 minutes.
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