ALEX Eala extended her perfect record against Arianne Hartono to four games, dominating their latest encounter, 6-2, 6-2, early Wednesday morning to open her Guadalajara 125 campaign in Mexico.
The 20-year-old Filipina wasted no time returning to the win column after a second-round exit at the 2025 US Open last week, asserting her mastery of the Netherlands' standout in the round of 32 of the WTA 125 Abierto Zapopan.
Eala now advances to the round of 16, where she will face WTA No. 122 Varvara Lepchenko of the US.
Eala, currently ranked No. 75 in the world, set the tone early, drawing first blood at 1-0, though Hartono quickly leveled at 1-all. From there, the Filipina found her rhythm, racing to a 3-1 lead with confident baseline hitting. Hartono trimmed the gap to 3-2, but Eala surged back, stringing together three straight games to close out.
Riding her momentum into the second set, Eala stormed ahead 2-0 before Hartono fought back to even things at 2-all. Still, the Filipina’s consistency shone through as she broke again for 3-2, then tightened her grip to seal the win.
The match marked their third meeting in 2025 since their maiden clash in 2023 — all of which Eala has won.
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