Veteran Varvara Lepchenko will be the next hurdle for Alex Eala in the ongoing Guadalajara 125 Open in Mexico.
Alex Eala is set to take on a seasoned foe in the Round of 16 of the Guadalajara 125 Open in Zapopan, Mexico on Thursday (PH time).
Eala, 20, faces the Uzbekistani-American hitter Varvara Lepchenko who is 19 years her senior.
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Lepchenko turned pro in 2001 — four years before Eala was born. She tallied a best ranking of world no. 19 in 2012, when she made the fourth round of Roland Garros.
That same year, she also reached the third round in both Wimbledon and the US Open.
INn WTA 1000 tournaments, she achieved her best result at the Madrid Open also in 2012 when she got through to the quarterfinals.
Lepchenko has no career singles titles on the WTA Tour but she made the finale of the 2014 Korea Open, losing to Karolína Plíšková. She does, however, have one WTA Challenger title.
She won the Charleston Pro in August 2021, beating USA’s Jamie Loeb. This tournament is at the same level of the competition in Guadalajara.
On the ITF Tour, Lepchenko has 13 titles in singles, and one title in doubles.
The 39-year-old is currently ranked world no. 122.
This will be Lepchenko’s first encounter with Eala, who is currently world no. 75. The match is schedule for 3:20 a.m. Thursday.