By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Alex Eala and Lithuanian partner Justina Mikulskyte launched their title bid in grand fashion, thrashing their Slovakian rivals in the W60 Trnava 2nd Empire Women’s Indoor Tennis Tournament in Slovakia Wednesday, March 8 (Thursday in Manila).
The unseeded duo combined power in ousting hometown bets Ela Platenikova and Nina Vargova, 6-1, 6-0, to barge into the quarterfinals of the $60,000 event.
Eala and Mikulskyte, however, need to raise their game a notch higher when they clash with fourth seed Vivian Heisen and Julia Lohoff.
The German duo had to dig deeper in outlasting Russian Maria Bondarenko and Romanian Ilona Georgiana Ghioroaie, 6-4, 7-5.
Meanwhile, Eala currently plays Great Britain’s Sonay Kartal in the second round singles after an easy 6-1, 6-0 upset victory over Spain’s Leyre Romero Gormaz Tuesday, March 7 (Wednesday in Manila).
A singles victory for Eala would book her a quarters seat and would arrange her a date with the winner between Serbian qualifier Lola Radivojevic and Ukrainian fourth pick Daria Snigur.
Both Radivojevic and Snigur swept their first-round foes, with the Serbian besting fellow qualifier Elena Malygina of Estonia, 7-5, 6-1, and the Ukrainian edging wildcard bet Renata Jamrichova of Serbia.
This was only Eala’s fourth appearance in the pro circuit this year as she aims for a third career pro title following victories in the W15 Manacor in 2021 and W25 Chiang Rai last year.
