By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Alex Eala trounced Dutch qualifier Lian Tran, 6-4, 6-2, to barge into the second round of the W100 Vitoria-Gasteiz International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournament in Spain on Wednesday, July 17.
Seeded fifth in the event, Eala recovered after dropping her first serve and dominated the match to prevail.
Up next for Eala is local bet Lucia Cortez Llorca, who pulled off a 6-2, 6-1 win over Turkish qualifier Pemra Ozgen.
Eala’s singles win came a day after she and French partner Estelle Cascino whipped Spaniards Carolina and Jimena Gomez, 6-3, 6-2, in the opening round of the women’s doubles.
Eala and Cascino will next face Czech Republic’s Victoria Bervid and Italy’s Laura Mair, who crushed another Spaniard tandem in Maria Pia Orga Nebra and Leire San Jose, 6-2, 6-1.
Eala is hoping to reaffirm her mastery over Llorca, who she beat in the quarterfinals of the same tournament last year.
Eala also boasts of a higher Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) ranking of No. 155 against Llorca’s No. 385.
Eala is using the tournament in preparation for the US Open qualifying tournament slated late next month. She is gunning for her fifth singles and third doubles titles in the ITF.
