FILE – Alex Eala in the WTA Thailand Open. THAILAND OPEN PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala dominated Leyre Romero Gormaz of Spain, 6-1, 6-0 to kick off her W60 Trnava campaign on a rousing note on Wednesday (Manila time) in Slovakia.
Coming off a month-long vacation, the 17-year-old Filipino hardly missed a beat as she made quick work of the No.6 seed in the round of 32.
Eala blanked Romero Gormaz in the second set to advance to the round of 16, where she will face Sonay Kartal of Great Britain.
The Rafael Nadal Academy scholar will also see action in the doubles as she and Lithuania’s Justina Mikulskyte will face Ela Platenikova and Nina Vargova of Slovakia in the Round of 16.
Eala was coming off her professional debut in the qualifying tournament of Roland Garros and in the Australian Open qualifiers last January.
She is eyeing her third crown in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) after winning the W15 Manacor in 2021 and the W25 Chiang Rai last year.
Eala won the President’s Award in the 2023 Philippine Sportswriters Association Awards night on Monday.
“Thank you very much to the Philippine Sportswriters Association for the 2022 Presidents Award! Huge Congratulations to all the awardees and I am truly honored to be part of this outstanding selection of elite athletes,” she wrote. “Wish I could be there but I’m at a tournament in Slovakia.”
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