MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala barged into the quarterfinal of the W60 Nantes after withstanding Zeynep Sonmez of Turkiye, 7-6(5), 6-4, on Wednesday (Manila time) in France.
Eala needed to fight back from lethargic starts in both sets as she erased a 1-4 deficit in the first frame winning four straight games to take a 5-4 lead before Sonmez forced a tiebreak.
The 18-year-old Filipino displayed resiliency in the tiebreak to draw first blood. However, she fell to a 1-4 deficit anew to the 21-year-old Turkish in the second set.
Eala found her rhythm to win five consecutive games to complete her big win in an hour and 32-minute round of 16 match.
Eala, the World No. 19…
Keep on reading: Alex Eala rallies, makes W60 Nantes quarterfinal
