By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Alex Eala whipped Nastasja Mariana Schunk, 6-0, 6-03, to advance to the second qualifying round of the W75 Trvana International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournament in Slovakia on Monday, March 4 (Tuesday, Manila Time).
The 18-year-old Filipina tennis sensation dictated the tempo and held her serve throughout against her hard-serving rival to inch closer to booking a berth in the 32-player main draw round.
The win set up Eala her next match against Russian Iryna Shymanovich, who recovered from a challenging first set and survived hometown bet Nina Vargova, 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6-4.
This would be the first time that Eala and Shymanovich are meeting in the ITF circuit, with the Filipina boasting of a higher Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) ranking at No. 176 compared to the Russian’s No. 198.
The 26-year-old Shymanovich, however, has more experience with 13 ITF singles titles since 2013. However, she has yet to win a crown since prevailing in the W60 Rio de Janeiro in November 2022.
Eala, meanwhile, is chasing her fifth pro crown since winning the W25 Roehampton in Great Britain in August last year.
Her best finish so far is a semifinal appearance in the W50 Indore in India late January.
The $75,000 Slovakian tournament boasts of a field composed of top seed Anna Bondar of Hungary, local bet and second seed Tamara Zidansek and French third seed Leolia Jeanjean.
