By NIKOLE JAVIER
Alex Eala reached the second round of the W60 Nantes singles tournament in France after making quick work of hometown bet Amandine Hesse, 6-3, 6-2, on Tuesday, Oct. 31 (Manila time).
The Filipina tennis star rediscovered her winning form following back-to-back early exits in her past two singles competitions.
The former US Open singles girls champion jumped to 4-1 leads in both the first and second sets as she imposed her will against the hometown bet.
In the second set, Eala even took a 5-1 advantage and held Hesse to just one point in the seventh game before claiming the victory.
Eala, already a proud winner of four titles, will have a tougher assignment in the Round og 16 when she faces sixth seed Turkiye’s Zeynep Sonmez on Wednesday, Nov. 1 (Manila time).
Eala, winner of 2 bronze medals in the 19th Asian Games, and her Indonesian partner Jessy Rompies suffered an early exit in the doubles competition against the unseeded Russian pair Ekaterina Reyngold and Ekaterina Maklakova, 6-1, 3-6, 6-10, a day prior.
