Eala resumes campaign with Mexican gig

Posted by ReyFort Media

MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala will play in the Guadalajara Open in Mexico first before trooping to Brazil for the Sao Paulo Open in the resumption of her campaign after a historic US Open second-round stint.

Eala, ranked No. 70 in the live WTA rankings, is seeded second in the Mexican WTA 125-level tourney slated until Sept. 6 ahead of her Brazil stint on Sept. 8 to 14.

The 20-year-old Filipina ace has drawn No. 187 Arianne Hartono of the Netherlands in Round 1 tomorrow, looming as the heavy favorite due to higher ranking and 3-0 head-to-head advantage.

Eala will march in Guadalajara with extra motivation after a historic stint in the US Open, where she became the first Filipina winner in any tennis major main draw.

Unseeded and coming off a shoulder injury, Eala pulled off a 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (13-11) stunner of world No. 15 and 14th-seeded Clara Tauson of Denmark before bowing to Cristina Bucsa of Spain, 6-4, 6-3, in the Round of 64.

Now, Eala sets her sights on improving her WTA rankings and hopefully winning her first pro title this year.

After Mexico and Brazil, Eala is slated to fly to Asia for multiple tournaments leading up to a possible Philippine team duty in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games in Thailand this December. (J.B. Ulanday /Philstar)