By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Alex Eala routed Daniel Seguel of Chile, 6-1, 6-2, to barge into the third round of the W60 Madrid International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournament in Spain Wednesday.
Eala, 17, dominated her 11th-seeded foe to set up her next meeting with seventh pick Yvonne Cavalle-Reimers of Spain, a 6-2, 3-6, 6-0 winner over compatriot Ainhoa Atucha Gomez.
“I’m very happy to be in the final 16 of another W60k event. Let’s go for more!” Eala wrote on her social media.
This would be the second time that Eala and Reimers would be facing in an ITF tournament, having met for the first time last year at the W15 Manacor where the Filipino bet won 5-7, 6-1, 6-2, in the finals.
That victory actually gave Eala her first pro title.
Eala and Taiwanese En Shuo Liang, however, were not so fortunate in the doubles after they bowed to fourth seed Timea Babos of Hungary and Valeria Savinykh, 6-2, 6-4, in the quarterfinals.
A victory for Eala and Liang could have arranged them a meeting with top seed Anna Danilina of Kazakhstan and Anastasia Tikhonova.