By Kristel Satumbaga
Teen sensation Alex Eala displayed steely resolve in her first tournament and beat Alba Carrillo Marin, 6-1, 7-6 (2) in the W15 Castellon tournament in Spain on Wednesday.
Eala, 15, survived a close second-set battle to beat her 24-year-old rival in the $15,000 claycourt pro event.
Eala took advantage of Carrillo’s erratic serve, winning seven break points in the match that lasted almost two hours.
The PH bet rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the second set and forced a tiebreaker by breaking the Spaniard’s serve in the 12th game.
Eala did not waste time and dictated the tiebreaker for the win.
The victory set up Eala a second-round meeting with fellow junior player Oksana Selekhmeteva of Russia, who stunned third seed Alice Rame of france, 7-6 (2), 6-3.
Selekhmeteva, 17, has never won a pro title but like Eala, she has made significant performances in the juniors circuit including a semifinal finish at the 2019 US Open Juniors.
Eala, for her part, is coming off a semifinal finish at the Roland Garros Juniors last month, as well as a quarterfinal showing at the J1 Villena juniors tilt in Spain a week ago.
