Alex Eala, doubles partner Priska Nugroho looking to sustain strong start to Wimbledon campaign
THE girls’ doubles tandem of Filipino Alex Eala and Indonesian Priska Nugroho got its debut Wimbledon campaign off to a rousing start on Wednesday and out to sustain it.
The two defeated Erika Matsuda of Japan and Valencia Xu of the United States in straight sets, 6-0, 6-0, in their opening doubles match.
Mses. Eala and Nugroho were dominant, never allowing their opponents to get any headway and finishing the contest in just 32 minutes.
In each of the two sets, the Philippine-Indonesian team raced to an early 2-0 lead and never looked back from there.
The win thrust the Eala-Nugroho team to the second round of the tournament where they were set to face the duo of Chelsea Fontenel of Switzerland and Ashlyn Krueger of the United States later on Thursday.
Mses. Eala and Nugroho, the third-seeded team in Wimbledon, partnered to win the 2020 Australian Open. Rafa Nadal Academy scholar Eala was also part of the French Open title-winning girls doubles team early this year.
It was a busy Thursday for Ms. Eala, 16, in London as she was also to play in the second round of the girls’ singles event against Spanish netter Ane Mintegi Del Olmo.
She booked a spot in the round of 32 after defeating Argentina’s Solena Sierra, 6-2, 6-4, in her first match. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo
