Alex Eala turns back Swiss, faces tough 2nd round foe
Alex Eala hopes to finally find her groove this season. —KEATS LONDON
MANILA, Philippines–Playing in her toughest tournament so far and priming up for a formidable foe, Alex Eala disposed of Swiss Joanne Zuger, 6-4, 6-1, at the start of the W80 Grenoble in France on Wednesday.
And up next for the gritty 16-year-old will be the fourth-ranked Chloe Paquet, another home bet who is ranked 124th in the world and a veteran of several Grand Slam tournaments where Eala has campaigned as a junior.
Paquet won four women’s titles last year and saw action in the main draws of the Australian and French Opens.
After a disappointing season start in Spain, Eala, now ranked 587th in the world, took a big stride after disposing of the 21-year-old Zuger.
“I’m glad to have made it to the qualifying rounds and then won my first round this week,” said Eala, who has two more years of eligibility left as a junior but is opting to compete more in the women’s events.
Eala, who had to hurdle two matches in qualifying, refused to be intimidated by the big-serving Swiss and even won 73 percent of her first serves against the 53 percent of Zuger, the world No. 264.
Eala also converted 5-of-9 break opportunities compared to 1-of-4 by Zuger as she has started to make up for a 0-3 start to her season after bowing out in the first round of three W25 tournaments in Mallorca, Spain.
