REY C. LACHICA
Alex Eala survived a marathon first game loss in the opening set to outlast German Silvia Ambrosio, 7-6, 1-6, 6-3, and advance to the quarterfinals of the last leg of the W15 Manacor Thursday at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca, Spain.
Both Eala and Ambrosio came into the game ready for a war and they showed it right away by displaying grit apart from playing superb groundstrokes.
After 20 minutes of intense battle, the 24-year-old German, who stunned top seed Margot Yerolymos of France in the opener, nailed the first point of the game marked by seven deuces.
The 15-year-old Eala also lost her serve in the 7th game and fell 5-3 after the 8th game when the German held serve.
Eala, however, refused to roll over and die and rallied mightily to take the opener.
So tired was Eala from that match she was completely overpowered in the second set that saw Ambrosio race to a commanding 5-0 lead.
Eala prevented a shutout loss in the second game when she held serve in the 6th game.
Good thing Eala found her second wind in the decider and broke Ambrosio in the second and fourth for a 4-0 lead.
Despite losing her serve in the 5th game, the lefty Eala managed to bounce back and peppered the German with variety of whistling shots to finally wrap up the match in a little over three hours.
The German was unseeded in the $15,000 tournament but made her presence felt with her 6-4, 6-3 win over Yerolymos.
Up next for Eala on Friday is Russian Oksana Selekhmeteva
