By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Alex Eala dumped German qualifier Angelina Wirges, 6-3, 6-2, and sailed into the second round of the Kyotec Open on Wednesday, Nov. 15, in Petange, Luxembourg.
Eala, seeded ninth in the $40,000 International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournament, wasted no time in dominating Wirges with her superb shots to bolster her campaign in her last event of the season.
The 18-year-old Filipina next faces qualifier Johanne Christine Svendsen, who made her title bid felt with a 6-3, 6-3 triumph over unseeded Nikola Bartunkova of the Czech Republic the day before.
In doubles, Eala and Zeynep Sonmez of Turkey will have their hands full against the fancied pair of fourth seed Katarina Kozarov of Servia and Antia Wagner of Bosnia and Herzegovenia in the quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, Ruben Gonzales and Korean Yun Seong Chung stunned Indian third seed Rithvik Choudary Bollipalli and Arjun Kadhe, 6-4, 6-4, in the Hyogo Noah Challenger in Kobe, Japan also on Wednesday.
The pair awaits the winner between Japanese wildcard duo Shinji Hazawa and Yuta Shimizu, and India’s Purav Raja and Ramkumar Ramanathan.
Gonzales, who is currently ranked No. 182 in the ATP doubles, and Yun are coming off a Round of 16 finish in the Matsuyama Challenger also in Japan last week.
