Alex Eala a win away from historic French Open main draw
Photo from alex.eala/Instagram
Filipino tennis ace Alex Eala is now just one win away from securing a spot in the singles main draw of the French Open at Stade Roland Garros in Paris.
On Wednesday, the tennis prodigy triumphed over 30th seed and world No. 137 Taylah Preston of Australia in a thrilling three-set match, ending with scores of 4-6, 6-4, 7-5.
The three-set game showed Eala’s resilience and determination. After dropping the first set 4-6, she fought back fiercely in the second set, leveling the match with a 6-4 win.
The third set saw a dramatic turnaround as the current world No. 160 initially trailing 2-4, won three consecutive games to take a 5-4 lead. Although the Australian netter managed to break Eala’s serve and equalize at 5-5, Eala regained her composure, securing a crucial game to go up 6-5, then eventually sealing the game.
The Rafa Nadal Academy, where Eala trains, celebrated her victory on Instagram, posting, “[Alex Eala] is still dreaming in Paris! After a great comeback against Taylah Preston, tomorrow she will try to qualify for her first Grand Slam main draw. LABAN! VAMOS‼️” with a Philippine flag emoji.
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The tennis prodigy also posted photos of her from the match, expressing, “See you tomorrow [at Roland Garros’] Final Qualy!” with an orange and green hearts emoji.
The recent win follows her sweep victory against No. 197 Ye-Xin Ma of China, 6-1, 6-1, in the first round of the qualifiers on Monday.
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Eala advances to the third round of the qualifiers, where she is set to face the second-seed Julia Riera of Argentina, who holds the world No. 93 spot. A win in this upcoming match on May 23 at 4 p.m. (PST) would make Eala the first Filipina to reach a Grand Slam main draw, marking a historic achievement in her career and for Philippine tennis.
And fun fact, it will be a double celebration if she wins because the match will fall on her 19th birthday.
