MANILA, Philippines – Alex Eala struggled but recovered just in time to escape with a 6-1, 6-7(1), 7-5, win over former world junior No. 2 Sara Saito of Japan in the opening round of the qualifiers for the WTA Singapore Tennis Open on Saturday, January 26.
After a convincing first-set triumph, the 19-year-old Eala had a chance to finish off Saito after leading at 5-4 in the second set. But Saito fought back to extend the set to a tiebreak, which the Japanese dominated to even the match.
Eala, now ranked a career-high 136 in the world, appeared to have regained control when she zoomed to a 5-2 lead in the decider. Yet her 18-year-old foe once again displayed resilience, tying the count at 5-5 with a service break.
The Filipina answered back by breaking the world No. 161 rising star from Japan in the 11th game before holding serve in the 12th to end the match at the Center Court of the Kallang Tennis Centre in two hours and 40 minutes
Eala will need to step up her game on Sunday, January 26, to have a shot at qualifying for the main draw of the WTA 250 event.
Standing in Eala’s way is an in-form world No. 167 Simona Waltert of Switzerland, who upended in straight sets former world No. 96 Chloe Paquet of France in the opening round.
Waltert, who last year ranked 107 and reached the second round of the French Open, holds a 2-1 advantage over Eala in their head-to-head matches.
Eala looks to get back on track this week in the first WTA event to be held in Southeast Asia in 2025.
After reaching the semifinals of the WTA 125 Canberra in Australia early January, Eala has had subpar performances in her succeeding tournament, exiting the opening round of the Australian Open qualifiers, then reaching only the second round of the ITF W100 in Bengaluru, India last week. – Rappler.com