Alex Eala picks up right where she left off in her opening match in Sao Paulo with a dominant showing against Yasmine Mansouri.
Alex Eala needed just over an hour to dispose of France’s Yasmine Mansouri as she marched on into the Round of 16 of the Sau Paolo 250 Open in Brazil, 6-0, 6-2, on Tuesday (early Wednesday morning, Manila time).
Eala is coming off of her maiden title in the WTA Challenger tiff Guadalajara 125 Open last week and picked up right where she left off.
The 20-year-old was the favorite on paper against Mansouri as she was ranked significantly higher (World No. 61) over her opponent (World No. 380).
After blanking Mansouri in the opening set, Eala faced more adversity in Set 2 where the French hitter got herself on the board early, 1-3.
But Eala was not to be denied momentum as she quickly restored order with a love game in the next game to make it a 4-1 advantage.
Despite Mansouri recovering and holding her serve in Game 6 where they engaged in a back-and-forth affair with three deuces, Eala was able to deny Mansouri any real runs in the match, holding her serve right after to push Mansouri against the wall, 5-2.
Then, Eala blanked Mansouri anew to break her serve in the next game to make it a 6-2 conquest in the second set.
Eala played just an hour and 10 minutes to march on to the second round.
Three-seed Eala faces off against Argentina’s Julia Riera in her next match on Wednesday (early Thursday morning, Manila time).
Eala is looking for her first WTA 250 title after previously winning a WTA Challenger trophy in Guadalajara.
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Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.