ALEX Eala made an impressive and memorable pro debut in South America early yesterday morning (Tuesday afternoon in Brazil), whipping Frenchwoman Yasmine Mansouri 6-0, 6-2 in the first round of the Sao Paulo Open at the Parque Villa-Lobos outdoor courts in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Brandishing a solid all-around game, Eala, currently ranked No. 61 in the world and seeded third, dominated Mansouri (No. 380) to win in one hour and 10 minutes at the Maria Esther Bueno Centre Court for a rousing start in the WTA 250 meet.
The pretty Pinay southpaw stretched her match-winning streak to six, dating back to the last Abierto Zapopan Open in Zapopan, Mexico and will face Argentine Julia Riera, a 6-3, 7-6 (7-1) winner over Russian Vitalia Diatchenko, in the next round today (Wednesday in Brazil) for a spot in the quarterfinals.
While it was a straight-sets win for Eala, Mansouri did have her fleeting moments in the abbreviated match, beginning in the first game of the first set when she threatened to break her rival, fighting through four deuces before the Filipina netter finally held serve.
The 24-year-old Frenchwoman also fought valiantly in pushing her opponent to breakpoint four times in the third game before Eala whipped an unreachable forehand down-the-line winner to hang on and give herself a 3-0 edge en route to clinching the first set on Mansouri’s long forehand.
Gunning for a second straight WTA title, the 20-year-old Quezon City pride surged once again to a 3-0 lead in the second set before her French foe finally showed signs of life, holding serve in the fourth game at 40-30 for her first-game win.
Mansouri then held serve once again in the sixth game after three deuces to make it 2-4, which proved to be her last hurrah as Eala easily won the next two games, clinching the set in the sixth game at 40-0 with a vicious forehand down-the-line winner.
The Filipina had the upper hand in all departments, most telling of which was her 48.1 percent average on first returns won, converting 13 of 27 points, in contrast to the 31.2 norm of her opponent (10/32) and 75 percent on second return points won (18/24) to the Frenchwoman’s 29.4 average (5-17).
Eala also converted five of her 10 break points for a 50 percent norm while Mansouri lost all four of her chances to break her rival.
The PH bet kept her double faults to a minimum of four compared to seven of the French.
