SECOND-SEEDED Alex Eala subdued Spain’s Leyra Romero Gormaz 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 last Wednesday night to become the first Filipino to reach the French Open junior singles quarterfinals at the Roland Garros Stadium in Paris, France.
Bouncing back from a second-set loss, Eala, 15, played in peak form in the final set to dispatch Gormaz in one hour and 48 minutes and book her spot in the girls singles quarterfinals, her best performance so far in a major junior competition.
In her French Open juniors debut last year, she fell in the first round and reached the second-round of the girls singles of the US Open junior tourney.
“Laban! Vamos! (Go!) Allez (Go!)” the Pinay tennis wunderkind exclaimed on her Facebook page shortly after her rousing win over the unseeded Spaniard.
Eala was practically dominant in all departments in the last set against Gormaz, who was broken in the second, fourth and sixth games and committed seven double faults against her rival’s one.
The Pinay netter also won more points on breaks (8-4) and reception (45-39) in her last 34 minutes on the court.
The lithe and limber Eala was scheduled to play the Czech Republic’s Linda Noskova, who beat France’s Flavie Brugnone 6-1, 6-2 in the previous round, in the quarterfinals last night.
