ITALIAN OPEN: Eala hurdles Polish foe to advance to 2nd round

Sports

ALEX Eala started like a house on fire, tapered in the second round before regaining her rhythm in the deciding set to advance to the second round of the Italian Open on Wednesday night (Philippine time), May 6.

Eala dispatched Poland’s Magdalena Frech, 6-0, 3-6, 6-4, and arranged a second-round match with China’s Xinyu Wang.

Wang, ranked No. 33 in the world, will be well-rested against Eala after earning a first-round bye.

By beating the 28-year-old Frech, the world no. 42 Eala surpassed her previous showing in last year’s Italian Open where she lost to Ukranian Marta Kostyuk in the first round, 0-6, 1-6.

Coming off a one-week break, the 20-year-old Eala was impressive in the first round before losing steam in the second set.

Given a new lease on life after completing a huge fightback in the second set, the world No. 45 Frech tried to make the most out of the opportunity and dragged Eala to a tight duel in the deciding set.

The match was tied at 4-4 in the third set and Eala managed to pull through by winning the ninth game for a 5-4 edge.

Eala then pounced on the opponent’s miscues as Fesch committed three errors that helped the Filipina tennis sensation escape with the win.(CCM)