By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Alex Eala survived Frenchwoman Carole Monet’s second-set rally to prevail 6-3, 7-5, and advance to the second round of the Veneto Open in Gaiba, Italy on Tuesday, June 18.
The unseeded Eala took advantage of Monet’s erratic serves to barge into the Round of 16 in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA125) event.
The victory set up the 19-year-old Eala a meeting with Italy’s Giorgia Pedone, who made it to the next round after her sixth-seeded rival Hailey Baptiste of the United States retired in the second set while trailing 6-1, 1-0.
The tournament is Eala’s second grass court event having played at the Rothesay Open in Nottingham, Great Britain last week where she failed to get past the qualifiers after losing to Japan’s Ena Shibahara in the second round.
“Learning my way on the field,” Eala wrote on social media.
Eala seems to have a slim advantage over Pedone with her current WTA singles ranking at No. 169 compared to the Italian’s No. 307.
It was Pedone’s first grasscourt event this season as she aims to follow up from winning her first pro title last year at the W25 Santa Margherita di Pula in Italy.
Eala, for her part, has yet to win a title on the grass court after claiming all her four singles and two doubles titles on hardcourt in International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournaments.
She has also yet to win her first singles crown this season after winning twice in the doubles – at the W75 Croissy-Beaubourg and W50 Pune with different partners.
