ALEX Eala once again made her presence felt in the Juniors, where she was once the World No. 2, by winning big in her first-round match of the 2022 US Open Girls.
The 17-year-old Filipina brushed off Annabelle Xu of Canada, 6-3, 6-0, to move to the second round of the Girls' Singles circuit on early Monday morning (Philippine time), at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City.
Eala started strong at 2-0, but Xu fought back to tie at 2-2. Eala, though, regained momentum, winning two consecutive games before Xu broke her serve and snatched another to make it 4-3.
Too strong to falter, however, the WTA no. 290 finished off the set at 6-3.
In the second round, Eala blanked the 18-year-old, 6-0, in a match that lasted 78 minutes.
Moving to the second round, Eala next faces Nina Vargova of Slovakia, ranked 28th in the Worlds, on Wednesday.
Good start for Alex Eala
In a Facebook post, the young Pinoy tennis superstar (and niece of the newly appointed PSC chair) thanked her supporters who came all the way to New York to boost her morale.
"Good start ! Won my 1st Round match today. Thank you to all who came to watch and cheer me. You guys are the best," she said.
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