PINAY teen tennis sensation Alex Eala displayed grit and determination last Monday night, bouncing back from a first-set deficit to slip past Italian veteran Stefania Rubini 4-6, 6-4, 10-4 and advance into the main draw of the W60 tournament of the ITF World Women’s tour in Grenoble, France.
After yielding the first set, Eala found her groove in the next two, surging to a 5-2 lead in the second to force a super-tiebreaker.
Ranked 177 rungs lower in the Women’s Tennis Association rankings at No. 587 to her rival’s No. 410, the pretty Filipina southpaw dominated her Italian rival in the tie-breaker, surging to a 9-3 lead on the way to wrapping up the set and match.
Eala advanced to the main draw of the $60,000 tournament organized by the International Tennis Federation and was scheduled to face Swiss Joanne Kruger, ranked No. 264 in the world, in the opening round last night.
Tapped to see action for the national women’s tennis team in the Vietnam Southeast Asian Games, Eala relied on the points she won on her second serve — 17 to 12 — and solid service return — 38-28 — in pulling off the win over Rubini, who had four aces to none of her foe.
