MANILA, Philippines — Filipino tennis ace Alex Eala eyes a third straight win over former French Open titlist Jelena Ostapenko as she faces the Latvian at the WTA 500 Linz Open round of 16 in Austria on Wednesday.
The second round match is set around 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. in Manila barring any delay.
Eala defeated home bet Julia Grabher in the round of 32, 6-4, 6-3, early Wednesday to forge a third singles match against Ostapenko, who was waiting for her opponent in the round of 16.
Seeded No. 4 in the tournament, Ostapenko received a first-round bye.
World No. 46 Eala first fought No. 23 Ostapenko at the Miami Open in March last year, winning their round of 64 match, 7-6(2), 7-5.
Three months later, Eala walked over Ostapenko at the Eastbourne Open, 0-6, 6-2, 3-2, after the Latvian retired due to injury in their round of 16 clash.
Overall, this will be the fourth clash between Eala and Ostapenko.
Their third encounter was actually a doubles match at Indian Wells last month, where Ostapenko defeated Eala, 6-2, 6-2.
Ostapenko was playing with Hailey Baptiste while Eala with Iva Jovic.