FILIPINO tennis ace Alexandra “Alex” Eala tries to get a winning streak going when she battles a higher-seeded Russian in the round of 16 at the WTA 500 Ningbo Open on Thursday.
In her previous two tournaments in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Tour, Eala lost in her opening matches against lower seeded players.Eala, ranked 20th in the world, bowed to No. 180 Tatiana Prozorova of Russia at the Singapore Open and No. 217 Shi Han of China at the Wuhan Open. She also bowed to No. 85 Wang Xiyu of China at the semifinal round at the Asian Games.On Monday, Eala ended the slump and claimed her first win in the ongoing WTA Tour Asian swing with an easy 6-3, 6-1 victory over No. 34 Diane Parry of France.Eala’s next assignment, however, will not be an easy one as she faces No. 13 Diana Shnaider of Russia for the first time in her career.The 21-year-old Eala and 22-year-old Shnaider did not cross paths even in their playing years in the juniors division.Shnaider sealed her place in the round of 16 after denying No. 66 Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan on Wednesday, 7-5, 7-6(4).If Eala gets past Shnaider, she will face either No. 12 Iva Jovic of the United States or No. 35 Jasmine Paolini of Italy.Eala has not won against Jovic in three matches but has a 1-1 head-to-head record against Paolini.The lefty Eala last battled Jovic at the US Open third round and bowed in three sets, 5-7, 6-3, 5-7, last September.Eala also bowed to Paolini at Wimbledon in the fourth round, 4-6, 6-4, 3-6, the last time they met in July.Eala defeated Paolini at the Dubai Tennis Championships, 6-1, 7-6 (5), last February at the height of her winning run.
