Eala battles veteran foe in Round of 16 of Guadalajara Open

Sports

ALEX Eala cruised in the first round after reasserting her dominance over Dutch rival Arianne Hartono. She will try to sustain the momentum against an opponent 19 years older than her as she tackles Uzbekistan-American Varvara Lepchenko in the Round of 16 of the Guadalajara 125 Open in Mexico.

The Eala-Lepchenko match is slated on Thursday (Philippine time), September 4, at 3:20 a.m.

The 20-year-old Eala, ranked No. 70 in the world, had an easy outing in the first round, dispatching Hartono with ease, 6-2, 6-2, early morning Wednesday, September 3.

Eala sealed her fourth straight win over Hartono by overcoming six double faults and breaking her opponent six times.

Eala and Hartono first met in Roehampton, Great Britain in 2023 where the Filipina tennis ace triumphed in three sets. They met twice this year where Eala scored straight sets victories.

The Uzbekistan-born Lepchenko, on the other hand, advanced to the Round of 16 by beating Australian Maddison Inglis, 6-4, 6-1, in the opening round.

Lepchenko is currently ranked No. 119 but was a force to reckon with 13 years ago when she went as high as No. 19. She has one WTA Challenger title, 13 International Tennis Federation (ITF) crowns, and was a semifinalist in the 2013 Australian Open.

Eala’s career-high ranking is No. 56.(CCM)