By NIKOLE JAVIERĀ
Alex Eala reached the second round of the W60 Nantes singles tournament in France after making quick work of hometownĀ bet Amandine Hesse, 6-3, 6-2, on Tuesday, Oct. 31 (Manila time).
The Filipina tennis star rediscoveredĀ 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 leadsĀ in both the first and second sets as she imposed her will against theĀ hometown bet.
In the second set, Eala even tookĀ a 5-1 advantage and held Hesse to just one point in the seventh gameĀ 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 Turkiyeās Zeynep Sonmez on Wednesday, Nov. 1 (Manila time).
Eala, winner of 2 bronze medals in the 19th Asian Games,Ā 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.