ALEX Eala chalked up another hard-earned win to advance to the main draw of the Lexus Nottingham Open in Great Britain early Monday (Philippine time), June 16.

The Filipina tennis ace displayed solid composure in her second qualifying match, taking down the hard-serving Anca Todoni, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-3, in a gruelling duel that needed two hours and 19 minutes to complete.

The Romanian Todoni, who scored 12 aces, pushed Eala to the limit after the Filipino tallied an easy first set win. Eala regrouped in the deciding set, opening an early lead and cruised the rest of the way.

Eala also went through anxious moments when she topped Frenchwoman Varvara Gracheva in her first qualifying round assignment, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

With those twin victories, Eala, ranked No. 77 in the world, moved to the main draw where she will face sixth seed Magda Linette, a 31-year-old Polish veteran currently ranked No. 31 in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA).

Eala and Linette faced each other at the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open in February last year, where the Polish scored a 7-6 (4), 6-1 win

Linette is expected to give Eala a tough challenge. She went up as high as No. 19 in the WTA rankings and had made it to the WTA Tour finals eight times, winning three crowns while also reaching the semifinals of the 2023 Australian Open.(CCM)

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• #Australian Open