EALA ENTERS NOTTINGHAM OPEN MAIN DRAW

(UPDATE) FILIPINO tennis ace Alex Eala advanced to the Lexus Nottingham Open main draw after defeating Romanian Anca Todoni in the second and final round of the qualifiers, 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-3, in the United Kingdom on Sunday evening (early Monday in Manila).

Ranked 77th in the world, Eala banked on a strong service game as she held on 15 of her 16 serves including 5-of-5 in the third set.

It was a great bounce back for Eala, who yielded to World No. 87 Todoni in a tiebreak in the second set that dragged to 67 minutes.

Eala, who topped French Varvara Gracheva, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, in the first round of the qualifiers last Saturday, needed 33 minutes only to dispatch fellow 20-year-old Todoni in the opening frame.

Seeded sixth in the qualifiers, Eala needed 40 minutes to win the third set, where 11th seed Todoni showed some fight, especially in the first four games.

In the fourth game, Eala looked poised to take a 3-1 game lead but Todoni scored five straight points to overcome a love-40 deficit and tie at 2-2.

Eala fought back and won three straight games including the seventh where she broke Todoni's serve for a 5-2 lead.

Todoni held serve in the eighth game where she swept the Filipino netter.

Eala drew first blood in the ninth game but Todoni tied the count at 15-15.

That proved to be the Romanian's last point as Eala won three straight to close out the match.

Meanwhile, Carlos Alcaraz will return to action at Queen's Club next week after the World No. 2 celebrated his epic French Open triumph by partying in Ibiza.

Alcaraz saved three match points and rallied from two sets down to beat Jannik Sinner in a fifth set tie-break in the sensational Roland Garros final on June 8.

Having triumphed in one of the greatest finals in tennis history, the 22-year-old jetted off to Ibiza to soak up his second successive French Open crown.

As well as partying with friends, Alcaraz used the break as a welcome opportunity to recharge his batteries after a grueling clay court campaign that also included titles in Monte Carlo and Rome.

"It was fun, but honestly, I was there more mentally than physically. I had fun, just three nights, three days, and I think that was more than enough," he told reporters at Queen's on Sunday.

WITH AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE

2025-06-16T16:27:03Z