Alex Eala secures tough win in Suzhou opener

Dubai: Filipino tennis star Alex Eala battled through a tough opening match to defeat Poland’s Katarzyna Kawa at the WTA 125 Suzhou Open in China on Tuesday.

The 20-year-old Eala, currently ranked World No 58 and seeded fourth in the tournament, overcame the 32-year-old Polish veteran and World No 124 in a hard-fought 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 victory that lasted two hours and 27 minutes.

After a 2-2 start in the first set, Eala broke away just before rain suspended play for several hours. When the match resumed, she quickly wrapped up the set to take the early lead.

Kawa responded in the second, shifting momentum in her favour to force a deciding set. The third set proved to be a tense battle, with the score tied at 3-3, 4-4, and 5-5 before Eala dug deep to win the final two games and seal the match.

Eala entered the Suzhou Open on the heels of a semi-final finish at the Jingshan Open, where she lost to lower-ranked Lulu Sun. Earlier this month, she captured her maiden professional title in Guadalajara, Mexico.

With the win, she moves on to the round of 16, where she will face Belgium’s Greet Minnen, the World No 106, as she continues her pursuit of a second career title.