ALEX Eala moved to the second round of the WTA 250 Lexus Nottingham Open qualifiers, escaping French foe Varvara Gracheva, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, on Saturday evening (Manila time).
The 20-year-old Filipino, seeded sixth in the qualifying draw, will next face 11th seed Anca Todoni of Romania for a shot at a main draw berth in the grass-court tournament in Great Britain.
Eala hopes to go beyond her quarterfinal finish in the Ilkley Open, as she ramps up preparations for a potential Wimbledon debut later in the month.
She dominated the opening set with a five-game surge from 3-all to 6-3, but Gracheva answered back with a strong 5-2 finish in the second to force a decider.
Come the third, Eala steadied, racing to a 5-2 lead before closing it out in the face of a brief challenge.
The final schedule for her next match is yet to be announced.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
