Alex Eala survives scare to reach 3rd round of French Open

FILE – Filipino tennis player Alex Eala. Photo from the Rafael Nadal Academy

MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala overcame another hard-fought match, scraping past Mara Guth of Germany, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4, to move into the third round of the 2020 Roland Garros juniors tournament Monday in Paris, France.

The Filipino tennis star will face Leyre Romero Gormaz of Spain in the third round.

It’s been a challenging first two rounds for Eala, who needed a huge opening set rally to beat Natalia Szabanin of Hungary to get her campaign going in the French Open.

Against Guth, Eala, who is ranked No. 2 in the girls singles tournament, had to dig deep to break loose from a 4-4 deadlock in the deciding third set.

The 15-year-old Eala is also set to begin her bid in the girls doubles event as she and her American partner Elvina Kalieva will take on the Italian duo of Eleonora Alvisi and Lisa Pigato in the opener.