OFF to a strong start at the Abu Dhabi Open, Alex Eala is going on double duty as she marched into the second round of singles before opening her doubles campaign alongside Southeast Asian rival Janice Tjen of Indonesia.
Just days after rising to a career-best rise to world No. 45, Eala secured her place in the round of 16 of the WTA 500 event in the UAE after dismantling Zeynep Sonmez, 6-4, 6-3, early Tuesday morning (Manila time).
READ Eala sweeps Sonmez to kick off Abu Dhabi campaign
Up next for the Filipina is Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich, the WTA No. 109 who is coming off an upset win over former world No. 2 Paula Badosa, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, in the opening round.
Their clash is scheduled for Wednesday, with the specific time and court yet to be determined.
Adding more spice to Eala’s Abu Dhabi run, the 20-year-old (WTA doubles No. 136) teams up with Tjen (WTA doubles No. 68) to face Canada’s Leylah Fernandez (No. 56) and France’s Kristina Mladenovic (No. 55) late Tuesday night, not before 10:10 p.m. Manila time.
Eala and Tjen have met once before in singles, with the Indonesian prevailing 6-4, 6-1 in the Sao Paulo quarterfinals.
It will be Eala’s first doubles encounter with the Fernandez-Mladenovic tandem.
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