Alex Eala makes history as 1st Filipina to win a WTA main draw match

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Alex Eala added another golden achievement to her storied lawn tennis career after becoming the first Filipina to win a Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) main draw match.

The Filipina tennis ace participated in the Cluj-Napoca Winners Open in Romania and won her first match against Argentina’s Paula Ormaechea, 7-5, 6-2.

Entering the main draw match, Eala’s nerves were evident as the Filipina fell into an early 0-4 hole in the first set.

Eala committed a lot of costly unforced errors in the first set which the Argentinian capitalized on in the opening 20 minutes of the match.

However, Eala was quick to recover and stunned her Argentinian foe with a 7-1 run.

Picking up the much-needed momentum heading into the second set, Eala finally got her offensive rhythm that she just carried forward in the match.

Eala then never looked back and was finally in control of the match to dominate the second set with her signature baseline bombs and heavy first services.

With the victory, Eala is set to face WTA no. 119 Mayar Sherif of Egpyt in the tournament’s Round of 16.