Eala kicks off Madrid Open bid with sweep of Pavlyuchenkova

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Alex Eala is off to a blazing start in the Madrid Open after sweeping Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 6-3, 6-3, on April 22, 2026, at Caja Magica in Manzanares Park, Spain.

The Filipina ace pulled off a dream start on the WTA stage as she dominated the Russian veteran with her efficiency, committing only five unforced errors in almost one hour and 30 minutes of action.

Laser-focused, decisive and consistent with her groundstrokes, Eala took Pavlyuchenkova to school after quickly jumping to a two-game lead.

After the 2-all deadlock, Eala never looked back, scoring a momentum-boosting break point in the fifth game to set the tone and establish her dominance by the end of the opener.

Eala also capitalized on Pavlyuchenkova’s error-plagued performance, making sure every sloppy first-ball return from the Russian resulted in a down-the-line forehand winner.

Despite Pavlyuchenkova’s second-set adjustment of attacking the net to close the gap, Eala stuck to her game plan and punished the Russian challenger with a series of baseline passing winners.

A brief scare came when Pavlyuchenkova managed to steal a single break point midway through the second set, but Eala responded with urgency by breaking back to restore order.

With only one game needed to seal the sweep, Eala flawlessly took care of her service game and ended the frame in style with a crafty slice drop shot that landed right on the left corner line.

Eala wrapped up the impressive first-round win with 68 total points won, including four break points and 26 return points.

“I feel really great. I love Madrid,” Eala said after winning the match.

“At this level, every match is a battle. All of us players, we fight till the end. I am really happy with this win, she’s (Pavlyuchenkova) a great player, so I’m just happy to be in the next round.”

Eala will have only a day of rest before returning to the court today against Belgian star Elise Mertens in the tournament’s Round of 64.