Alex Eala rallies, makes W60 Nantes quarterfinal

Photo from Alex Eala’s Facebook

MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala barged into the quarterfinal of the W60 Nantes after withstanding Zeynep Sonmez of Turkiye, 7-6(5), 6-4, on Wednesday (Manila time) in France.

Eala needed to fight back from lethargic starts in both sets as she erased a 1-4 deficit in the first frame winning four straight games to take a 5-4 lead before Sonmez forced a tiebreak.

The 18-year-old Filipino displayed resiliency in the tiebreak to draw first blood. However, she fell to a 1-4 deficit anew to the 21-year-old Turkish in the second set.

Eala found her rhythm to win five consecutive games to complete her big win in an hour and 32-minute round of 16 match.

Photo from Alex Eala’s Facebook

Eala, the World No. 193, battles the third seed home bet Leolia Jeanjean in the quarterfinal on Thursday evening.

The two-time Asian Games bronze medalist is playing in the quarterfinal after a pair of first-round exits in the Jasmin Open and Scottish Open.

Eala, who is eyeing her fifth International Tennis Federation singles crown since winning her last in August at W25 Roehampton, opened her Nantes stint with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Amandine Hesse of France in the first round on Monday.

She also participated in the doubles but she and her Indonesian partner Jessy Rompies fell to Russians Ekaterina Reyngold and Ekaterina Maklakova, 6-1, 3-6, 6-10, in the first round.