Eala thanks fans following first round win in Austria

Dubai: With the backing of the Filipino community, Alex Eala knocks out Julia Grabher as the Filipina advances to the Linz Open round of 16 to take on Grand Slam winner Jelena Ostapenko.

Despite Eala coming up against Grabher in her home tournament of Austria, the 20-yead-old was welcomed with huge support from her loyal Filipino fans.

“I did not expect that there would be many of you here in Linz, but thank you for following my matches and see you tomorrow,” said Eala in a mix of Filipino and English.

The World No. 46 took almost an hour to secure the opening set, with both players holding serve through the first nine games before the Filipina broke in the 10th.

In that dramatic game, world No. 89 Grabher came close to leveling at 5-5 after gaining advantage, but Eala won the next three points, including a stunning forehand winner, to claim the set.

Eala then surged to a 4-1 lead in the second set, quickly halting Grabher’s comeback, and wrapped up the match in 1 hour 42 minutes.

“I kept the intensity well throughout the match. She’s a very intense player and has really good shots so I’m really happy with the win,” explained Eala.

Eala is aiming for a stronger clay season after exiting in the second round of all four clay events she played last year.

Her streak will be put to the test when she faces world No. 23 Ostapenko on Wednesday.

Eala holds a 2-0 WTA record against the Latvian, having defeated Ostapenko at both the 2025 Miami Open and 2025 Eastbourne Open, events where she made deep runs.

Ostapenko received a first-round bye as the No. 4 seed in Linz.