By NIKOLE JAVIER
Fresh from winning her fourth pro title, Alex Eala sailed into the Round of 16 of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) W25 Aldershot GB Pro Series by beating local bet Ranag Akua Stoiber, 6-2, 6-4, on Wednesday night, Aug. 16 (Manila time) at the Aldershot Tennis Centre in Great Britain.
Relentless offensively and tenacious defensively, Eala took the opening set easily before encountering some precarious moments in the second set before prevailing.
Eala, 18, will have a familiar foe in the next round in Australian Talia Gibson on Thursday, Aug. 17 (Manila time) with the winner advancing to the quarterfinals.
The 18-year-old seemed to be hardly feeling the fatigue as she went straight to the doubles event and teamed up with Urzula Radwanska of Poland, where they advanced to the quarterfinals after defeating Andre Lukosiute of Lithuania and Eliz Maloney of Great Britain, 6-4, 6-4.
“Two good wins today! Had a lot of fun in both matches, going through to the next round in singles and semifinals in doubles tomorrow,” said Eala on a Facebook post.
The Filipina bet is on a quest for back-to-back singles titles after clinching the W25 Roehampton crown on Sunday, Aug. 13 (Manila time).
The 2022 US Open girls champion and the 32-year-old veteran Radwanska will need to play with more fire and cohesion as they take on Japanese duo Erina Hayashi and Saki Imamura in the quarterfinals.
