Filipino tennis star Alex Eala. –Hamburg Tennis Association/via Alex Eala Facebook
MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala averted a lethargic start and fended off Ekaterina Kazionova of Russia for a come-from-behind 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory in the first round of the W60 Hamburg on Tuesday in Germany.
After dropping the opening set, the 17-year-old Filipino overcame a 4-3 deficit in the second set and won three straight games to force a decider.
Eala unleashed a rousing 5-1 start before Kazionova gave her a late scare, taking the next three games to cut down the lead to just one, 5-4. The Russian’s forehand shot went off the mark, handing the victory to Eala after a two-hour and 44-minute duel.
“Good start ! Happy with the way I played today. Round 2 match is on Thursday,” said Eala in a Facebook post.
The Rafael Nadal Academy scholar advanced to the Round of 16 where she faces faces Ysaline Bonaventure of Belgium.
Bonaventure beat Jana Fett of Croatia in the first round, 6-4, 6-4.
The first Filipino Grand Slam singles champion tallied a new career-high in the Women’s Tennis Association, jumping to world No. 248 last Monday — four notches higher from her previous high of No. 252 last week.
Eala, the US Open girls singles champion, is eyeing her third title in the pro ranks after her previous success in the W15 Manacor last year and 2022 W25 Chiang Rai in April.
In her past two stints in California, she made a quarterfinal appearance in the W80 Rancho Santa Fe and reached the second round of the W60 Templeton.