MANILA, Philippines — Filipino tennis ace Alex Eala dropped Turkish Zeynep Sönmez, 6-4, 6-3, at the Zayed Sports City’s International Tennis Centre in the United Arab Emirates early Tuesday in Manila to enter the Abu Dhabi Open round of 16.
World no. 45 Eala clinched the round of 32 win in one hour and 31 minutes after forcing no. 79 Sönmez in a return that went too long.
Eala and Zeynep shared a warm embrace at the net after the game and the Filipino made sure to acknowledge her close pal in the post-match interview.
"I'm so honored to share the court with one of my closest friends, Zeynep," said Eala.
"I admire her so much, and she's really making waves in many ways, and our friendship goes beyond tennis, so I'm so grateful for that."
Eala faces world no. 109 Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the second round of the WTA 500 tournament on Wednesday.
