Eala scores twinkill in Poitiers

MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala marched on to the next round of the W80 Poitiers in France, netting victories over fancied counterparts in both singles and doubles play.

Eala and Croatian partner Petra Marcinko scored a 6-2, 6-3 sweep of Yuliya Hatouka and Iryna Shymanovich from Belarus to advance to the quarterfinals against Czech Republic’s Miriam Kolodziejova and Marketa Vondrousova.

In the singles play, Eala hacked out a gutsy 6-2, 5-7, 7-6(6) win over home bet Jessika Ponchet to barge into the Round of 16.

The 17-year-old Filipina wasted a 4-2 lead in the second set but made up for it with a comeback from a 5-6 deficit in the tiebreaker to finally get the better of her French rival.

It’s the first win of Eala, the WTA No. 248, over the 26-year-old and WTA No. 161 Ponchet after losses in the W60 Vitoria-Gasteiz and W25 Palma del Rio in Spain early this year.

Eala will face the winner between France’s Marine Partaud and Vitalia Diatchenko of Russia for a seat in the quarterfinals.

The Filipina pride came all the way from the qualifiers with wins against French aces Diana Martynov and Astrid Cirotte to make it to the main draw.

A scholar of the Rafael Nadal Academy in Spain, Eala is out to clinch her third title in the women’s pro circuit riding on the heels of a historic US Open junior championship.