World No. 77 Alexandra Eala proved her mettle anew at the WTA 250 Eastbourne Open after reaffirming her mastery of World No. 82 Zeynep Sonmez in a swift 6-1, 6-3 sweep to reach the second round at the Devonshire Park in Eastbourne, Saturday night (Manila Time).
The 20-year-old Filipina regained her momentum in time, halting her Turkish foe’s second-set rally at 4-3 by stringing together the next two games en route to the win in just an hour and 13 minutes.
With the victory, Eala moves on to face top seed Hailey Baptiste of USA in the second qualifying round for a chance to clinch a spot in the main draw of her fourth grass court event this season—her final test before her singles debut in the Green Court Cathedral—the Wimbledon— which marks her second Grand Slam appearance.
Eala held firm in seven of eight service games and capitalized on five break points to dismantle a familiar foe in 23-year-old Sonmez, whose four double faults and numerous out-of-bounds shots spelled her doom.
Unlike their first meeting, Eala stamped her class with her baseline mastery right off the bat, flexing her trademark backhand that left Sonmez scrambling for the breadstick first-set win.
The young Filipina then stretched her dominance through the second set with a quick break and a hold point, which put her max games won in a row to seven until Sonmez battled back after three deuces to finally put a mark on the tally, 2-1.
Even as Eala dictated the tempo, Sonmez, a WTA titlist from the 2023 Merida Open in Mexico, began to settle in after unloading successive slice shots that broke Eala back and followed up by holding her own serve to stay within striking distance at 4-3.
Eala, however, remained undeterred as she quickly responded with a perfect win in the eighth game, then spoiled Sonmez’s late fightback in the ninth to finally secure the victory as she outlasted her rival in three deuces.
The two previously met in November 2023, where Eala defeated Sonmez 7-6(5), 6-4 in the W60 Nantes in France. They also teamed up in the 2024 1st Empire Women’s Indoor in Slovakia and the 2023 ITF Kyotec Open in Luxembourg, reaching the semifinals on both occasions.
Eala is set to become the first Filipino in the Open era to play in the Wimbledon singles main draw starting June 30.
