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Tennis: Alex Eala cruises to 2nd round of W60 Slovakia

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Rosy Mina

MANILA – Alex Eala of the Philippines moved past the first round of the W60 Trnava tournament in Slovakia on Tuesday with a 6-1, 6-0 win over sixth-seeded Leyre Romero Gormaz of Spain. It was the second meeting between the left-handers, following the Filipino’s third-round victory over the Spaniard at the 2020 Roland Garros Junior Championships. In their first clash on the professional tour at the TC Empire indoor hard court, the 17-year-old Eala quickly secured a 3-1 lead with a service break after her 20-year-old opponent hit a long backhand.WTA World No. 220 Eala, the reigning US Open Juniors singles champion, advanced to 5-1 with another break of serve. She claimed the first set, 6-1, with a clean forehand down the line at 40-0. In the second set, World No. 176 Romero Gormaz was unable to catch up as Eala dominated with a 3-0 edge after converting her third break point opportunity.The competition was then put on a pause due to a medical timeout called by Romero Gormaz.When play resumed, Eala maintained her momentum with a love service hold for 4-0, followed by a love service break that allowed her to serve for the match at 5-0.At 40-15 in the sixth game, Eala forced a forehand service return error to clinch the upset win, 6-0.In the second round, she will play against 21-year-old Sonay Kartal of Great Britain, the World No. 262. Eala is also entered in the doubles draw with Justina Mikulskyte of Lithuania, and they are drawn against the Slovak pair of Ela Platenikova and Nina Vargova. The W60 Trnava, also called the 2nd Empire Women’s Indoor 2023, is Eala’s second ITF event of the season after the W60 Canberra qualifiers in January.The two-time ITF women’s singles winner made her professional grand slam debut in the Australian Open qualifying draw, and went on to qualify for a WTA tilt for the first time at the Thailand Open in Hua Hin.Meanwhile, Eala was feted with the President’s Award at the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Annual Awards Night on Monday. She made history at the 2022 US Open for being the first Filipino to win a junior singles grand slam title.“Thank you very much to the Philippine Sportswriters Association for the 2022 President’s Award! Huge congratulations to all the awardees and I am truly honored to be part of this outstanding selection of elite athletes. Wish I could be there but I’m at a tournament in Slovakia,” she wrote on her Facebook page.The Rafa Nadal Academy scholar added, “Mabuhay po kayo, PSA! Mabuhay ang atletang Pilipino!”Eala, whose career-high WTA ranking is World No. 214, has two junior girls’ doubles championships from the 2020 Australian Open and 2021 Roland Garros. <ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news-k.abs-cbn.com/sports/02/23/23/alex-ealas-2023-goals-wta-tour-and-senior-high-graduation">Alex Eala&#x27;s 2023 goals: WTA Tour and senior high graduation</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news-k.abs-cbn.com/sports/01/31/23/tennis-eala-loses-to-germanys-maria-in-thailand-open">Tennis: Alex Eala loses to Wimbledon semifinalist Tatjana Maria in Thailand Open</a></li></ul>

MANILA – Alex Eala of the Philippines moved past the first round of the W60 Trnava tournament in Slovakia on Tuesday with a 6-1, 6-0 win over sixth-seeded Leyre Romero Gormaz of Spain. 