Eala shows worth on grass

MANILA, Philippines —  Alex Eala squeaked past Jessika Ponchet of France, 7-6(1), 6-4, in her first test in the 2024 Wimbledon qualifying draw Tuesday in London.

The Filipina ace recovered from a near meltdown in the extended first set then took care of business in the second to seal the deal in a good start in chase of a main draw ticket in yet another Grand Slam tourney.

Falling one win short from achieving the feat in the French Open last month, Eala is now raring to prove her worth on grass court this time around.

Eala raced to a 4-1 lead in the first but allowed a tiebreaker where she proved the steadier bet even against the 27-year-old and WTA No. 133 French, whom she had already faced four times with only a win to show.

And there was no stopping the 19-year-old Eala from there on, completing the win that set her up for a second-round duel against the 26-year-old Tamara Zidansek of Slovenia.

Zidansek, who is seeded No. 14 in the qualifiers and sits way higher than Eala in the WTA rankings at No. 110, pulled off a comeback win against China’s Xiaodi Yu, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4.