Eala draws Ostapenko after Linz win

Alexandra Eala will face fourth seed Jelena Ostapenko in the Upper Austria Ladies Linz round of 16 after the Filipina opened her campaign with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Austria’s Julia Grabher on Tuesday evening.

The victory made Eala the first player from the Philippines to compete in the main draw in Linz, and it set up a rematch with Ostapenko, whom she has beaten twice in 2025, once on hard court and once on grass.

The Linz tournament is a WTA 500 event played on clay in Austria, giving added weight to Eala’s opening-round result against a home favorite.

Eala, 20, had to work harder than the straight-sets score suggested as Grabher pressed her repeatedly in a match that lasted 1 hour and 42 minutes.

Grabher, who climbed from No. 470 to No. 89 on the WTA Tour over the past 15 months, created break-point chances in three of Eala’s service games in the opening set.

Still, Eala held firm each time and finally broke in the 10th game to take the first set, 6-4.

The first set stayed on serve throughout, but Eala had to survive break pressure in three of her five holds, including seven deuces in the seventh game, while Grabher was steadier on serve early.

Eala then made her move in the fourth game of the second set, converting on her second break point for a 3-1 lead.

She fought off two immediate break-back chances from Grabher to stretch the lead to 4-1.

Grabher eventually converted a break point in the seventh game to trim the deficit to 4-3.

Eala answered right away with another break in the eighth game before serving out the match.

A forehand error from Grabher gave Eala double match point, and another ball from the Austrian sailed wide to end it.

By match end, Eala had converted three of her seven break-point chances, while Grabher converted just one of 10.

Eala’s second-serve performance also proved decisive, with the Filipina winning 57.6 percent of those points, or 19 of 33, compared with Grabher’s 50 percent, or 13 of 26.

Those numbers helped Eala stay in command during long and pressure-filled exchanges even as Grabher kept forcing opportunities on return.

The Austrian, meanwhile, dropped to 0-6 at the WTA 500 event in Linz.

After the match, Eala pointed to composure and sustained focus as the difference.

“I think I kept the intensity well throughout the match,” Eala said on court afterward.

“She’s a very intense player and has really good shots. So I’m really happy with the win.”

Eala also spoke warmly about making her first appearance in Linz.

“I think it’s amazing. I’m really happy with how they welcomed me and welcome the Filipinos,” she said.

“I hope to discover your culture more and have some fun on the court.”

The win was Eala’s sixth career WTA victory on clay, a surface that has tested her in past seasons and on which she carried a 2-4 record in 2025 entering Linz.

That makes her next match even more intriguing because Ostapenko is not only the tournament’s fourth seed but also the 2017 French Open champion, giving Eala another high-level clay test despite her 2-0 edge in their recent head-to-head meetings.

Eala has been working to sharpen her movement and ball control on clay after returning to the Rafa Nadal Academy under Toni Nadal’s guidance, and the early result in Linz suggests those adjustments may be starting to carry over into matches.

A third straight win over Ostapenko would give Eala another statement result and strengthen her footing on clay ahead of bigger stops in the European swing, including Stuttgart.