HOLDING up her end of the bargain, Alex Eala breezed into the second round of the 2026 Wimbledon Championships to keep a dream matchup alive.
The Filipina world No. 30, seeded 29th, dominated Mexico's world No. 75 Renata Zarazua, 6-1, 6-2, early Wednesday morning (Manila time) on Court 12 of the All England Lawn Tennis Club.
The victory keeps alive the possibility of a second-round clash with American icon Serena Williams, who must first get past Australia's Maya Joint in her own opening-round match.
READ: Alex Eala's Wimbledon run could go through Serena, Iga early
The win improved Eala's grass-court record this season to 10-2, following strong runs at Bad Homburg, the Berlin Open, the Queen's Club Championships, and the WTA 125 Birmingham Classic.
The result also surpassed her Wimbledon debut last year, when she exited in the first round.
It marked Eala's second career main-draw victory at a Grand Slam, following her first-round win over Clara Tauson at the 2025 US Open.
Eala wasted little time asserting control, breaking Zarazua in the third game before reeling off five of the next six games to claim the opening set.
She then carried the momentum into the second, racing to a 2-0 lead before maintaining her comfortable cushion en route to a dominant finish in an hour and 18 minutes.
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