Alex Eala through to second round of Wimbledon girls’ singles event
FILIPINO ALEX EALA’S maiden Wimbledon campaign got off to a good start as she barged into the second round of the girls’ singles event.
Rafa Nadal Academy scholar Eala breezed through the opening round of the tournament, defeating Argentina’s Solana Sierra in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4, on Monday evening (Manila time).
The win set up the 16-year-old tennis wunderkind in a round of 32 showdown with local bet Ane Mintegi Del Olmo.
In her debut Wimbledon match, Ms. Eala was impressive.
She raced to an early 3-1 lead and never looked back from there to claim the opening set.
In the second frame, Ms. Eala got off fast as well, building a 3-0 cushion.
Seventeen-year-old Mintegi Del Olmo managed to narrow the gap after, 3-2, only to see the Filipino netter create some distance anew, 5-2.
The Spanish bet still tried to claw her way back, coming to within one point, 5-4.
That was the closest she would get though, as Ms. Eala in the 10th game closed things out and booked the victory.
“Great first day at The Junior Championships!” wrote Ms. Eala, a long-time Globe ambassador, on his official Facebook page following her debut in Wimbledon.
In Wimbledon, Ms. Eala will try to win her first juniors singles title in a Grand Slam. She has two girls doubles titles under her belt, winning the Australian Open in 2020, with partner Priska Nugroho of Indonesia, and early this year the French Open, with Russian tandem Oksana Selekhmeteva.
Ms. Eala is the number three junior player in the world and currently ranked 629th in the Women’s Tennis Association. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo
