Alex Eala topples former doubles partner in Eastbourne Open qualifiers

After dispatching a familiar foe and partner, Alex Eala targets another win for a spot in the main draw of the event serving as a Wimbledon warm-up

MANILA, Philippines – The grind continues for Alex Eala with the Wimbledon just a little over a week away.

The Filipina standout saw a familiar face across the net but took care of business anyway, defeating her former doubles partner Zeynep Sonmez of Turkey in dominant fashion, 6-1, 6-3, in the opening round of the qualifiers of the WTA 250 Lexus Eastbourne Open on Saturday, June 21, in the United Kingdom.

Eala and Sonmez previously teamed up in the 2024 1st Empire Women’s Indoor in Slovakia and in the 2023 ITF Kyotec Open in Luxembourg. They made the semifinals of both tournaments. 

The pair also faced off in the singles quarterfinals of the 2023 W60 Engie Open Nantes Atantique, where Eala emerged triumphant in straight sets.

All this history provided valuable information for Eala in breaking down Sonmez in a surprisingly lopsided match.

From the opening set, Eala served notice that she would not give Sonmez any breathing room as the Filipina threatened to break three times in the second game before the Turkish No. 1 held on to even the count at 1-1. 

That was the only window Eala would give Sonmez to put her name on the scoreboard as the Filipina ace blanked her foe the rest of the way to take the first set at 6-1 in just 30 minutes.

The second set was still all Eala even as Sonmez tried her hardest to make things interesting. The world No. 77 Filipina broke serve in the very first game and jumped to a 2-0 lead before the world No. 82 Sonmez captured the third game to narrow the count. 

As the 20-year-old Eala opened a 4-1 advantage, she continued to control the rallies and overpowered her foe. Sonmez fought back to cop the next two games, but that was the farthest Eala would allow her to go. 

It was all over after just one hour and 12 minutes as Eala capped off her brilliant performance by breaking  the 23-year-old Turkish’s serve for the eighth time in the match. 

Eala will need one more win in the last round of the qualifiers to make the main draw of the event held at the grass courts of the Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club. 

She will need, though, to pass a tough test against qualifying round top seed and world No. 56 Hailey Baptiste of the United States, who defeated No. 84 Yue Yuan in the first round, 7-5, 6-3. 

The 23-year-old American is coming off a breakthrough showing in the French Open where she reached the fourth round.

Eala, who will become the first Filipino in the tennis Open era to make the Wimbledon singles main draw, which will begin on June 30, saw action last week in the WTA 250 Lexus Nottingham where she also had to win two qualifying matches to earn a spot in the main draw. 

Unfortunately, she was eliminated in the opening round after she fell in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3, to world No. 31 Magda Linette of France. – Rappler.com