Alex Eala opens strong in W25 Roehampton

FILE–Filipino tennis player Alex Eala.

MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala jumpstarted her singles and doubles campaigns on a high note in the W25 Roehampton on Wednesday in Great Britain.

The 18-year-old Filipino swept home bet qualifier Gabriella Da Silva-Fick, 6-3, 6-4, to advance to the second round of the $25,000 singles tournament.

After dominating the opening set, the sixth seed Eala needed to overcome a 3-4 deficit by winning three straight games as the match ended with a fault from Da Silva-Fick.

“Great start to my first tournament in the UK this year!” Alex Eala said in a Facebook post.

https://www.facebook.com/AlexEala/posts/pfbid04XyAWLiwyiqTUiSU7dHsA6iJd9VRTYHAhopkdpDpDZMLUB6rEKaD8KT2qqzpDrfnl

Eala will take on her doubles partner Destanee Aiava of Great Britain in the round of 16 on Thursday evening.

In the doubles division, Eala and Aiava took down Julie Belgraver of France and Ella McDonald of Great Britain, 7-5, 6-2, to advance to the quarterfinals.

Eala and her partner will team up after their singles duel as they take on the top-seed Australian tandem of Talia Gibson and Petra Hule.

The Filipino prodigy, who graduated from Rafael Nadal Academy, recently reached the quarterfinals of the W60 Barcelona before losing to  Spanish wildcard Georgina Garcia Perez, 4-6, 3-6, last week in Spain.

Eala, the first Filipino to win a Grand Slam singles title is currently world rank No. 250 in the Women’s Tennis Association as of August 7.