For the second straight day, Alex Eala was up against a Frenchwoman, and for the second straight time, the Philippine sports princess produced another virtuoso performance.
Combining blazing serves with punishing groundstrokes, Eala outclassed Diana Martynov, 6-1, 6-2, and made it to the main draw of the W80 Poitiers tournament in France.
Interestingly, it was the same scores the reigning US Open Juniors champion hacked out in beating Astrid Cirotte in the first qualifying round of the event.
But the bad news?
Eala, 17, will be facing another Frenchwoman in No. 167 Jessika Ponchet.
Ponchet, 26, is the same player who beat Eala twice – first in the second round of the W25 Palma del Rio and in the semis of the W60 Vitoria-Gasteiz in Spain.
Held on outdoor hard courts, Eala was beaten in straight sets in both occasions.
Eala is hoping to exact sweet revenge when they clash Tuesday night.
With her improved game, Eala used her double-fisted to the hilt that saw her rival tumble as she chased the Filipino’s pinpoint shots.
The 21-year-old Martynov, who is ranked No. 870 in the world, had no answer to Eala’s whistling shots – not to mention her superb volley.
In all, Eala won 63 percent on her first serve and had 22 receiving points.
Agains Cirotte, Eala’s first serve percentage was only 57.
Eala also made it to the main doubles draw with WTA World No. 282 Petra Marcinko of Croatia.
Their first assignment will be against Yuliya Hatouka and Iryna Shymanovich of Belarus.
The W80 Poitiers is Eala’s second $80,000 ITF Women’s World Tennis Tour event after reaching the quarters of the W80 Rancho Sante Fe in California – also as a qualifier.
