MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala continues to enjoy success this 2021, moving on to the Round of 16 of the second leg of the W15 Manacor ITF Rafael Nadal Academy World Tennis Tour in Mallorca, Spain on Wednesday.
Just three days after her first professional title, Eala tacked on another win in the pro circuit when she bested the No. 2 seed of the tournament in Mirjam Bjorklund, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, in their clash yesterday.
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The 15-year-old grinded out in a match that lasted about two hours and a half to dispatch the Swedish tennister.
Eala had a strong start to the match buoyed by her five-match win streak since the first leg of the tournament.
She took the early set lead, 1-0 in the match.
But Bjorklund was able to recover in the second set and took a lopsided 6-3 win over Eala to force the decider.
Fortunately for Eala, she was able to take a quick 2-0 lead in the third set, and while Bjorklund was able to win two games in a row of her own to tie the set at 2-2, the 15-year-old would go on to win four of the next five games to clinch the win.
The Philippine wunderkind will face home bet Alba Carrillo Marin in the Round of 16 today.
Eala had previously faced the Spanish tennister in November 2020 where she overcame the 24-year-old, 6-1, 7-6.
Carrillo Marin is currently ranked World No. 56 in the ITF World Rankings.