By Kristel Satumbaga
Rising tennis star Alex Eala guns for a second pro title this week when she competes in the second leg of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Rafa Nadal Academy World Tennis Tour in Manacor, Spain.
Eala is entered as a junior reserve in the $15,000 event where she is bracketed in the lower half of the 32-player draw.
The 15-year-old PH top junior player, however, will have her hands full right in the opening round as she faces second seed Mirjam Bjorklund of Sweden Wednesday night.
Bjorklund, 22, boasts of an ITF ranking of 250 but is coming off a second-round loss in the first leg to Hong Kong’s Adithya Karunaratne, the same player whom Eala beat in the semifinal last week.
Eala clinched her first pro crown over the weekend by winning the opening leg of this event at the expense of Spaniard Yvonne Cavalle-Reimers.
Her impressive feat drew praises including from tennis legend Rafael Nadal.
