EALA GETS FIRST WIN IN ITF FRANCE TILT

FILIPINA tennis ace Alex Eala clinched her first win of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Open 3C Seine-et-Marne in the French town of Croissy-Beaubourg on Tuesday.

During the Round of 32, she defeated hometown bet Emeline Dartron in two sets, 6-3, 6-4, immediately advancing to the Round of 16.

For Eala, this was her first ITF tournament after her rise in the Women's Tennis Association rankings, where she still ranks at 171st as of Wednesday.

The game was also the 18-year-old Filipina's first since narrowly avoiding a possible injury at the Miami Open qualifiers in the United States earlier this month.

It was during the Miami Open qualifiers that she upset former world No. 5 Sara Errani of Italy (6-3, 6-1) before her near injury. She also defeated the Italian back in January in the doubles tournament in Canberra International in Australia along with Brazilian partner Laura Pigossi, dominating over Errani and Mexican partner Renata Zarazúa in three sets (5-7, 6-0, 10-6).

As of press time, Eala is set to face off against Germany's Mona Barthel in the Round of 16 on Wednesday, after the latter upset fourth-seeded American Sascha Vickery in her Round of 32 match in two sets, 7-5, 6-4.

2024-03-27T19:05:03Z dg43tfdfdgfd