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Alex Eala survives a battle of nerves in opposition to American Hailey Baptiste, who reached the fourth spherical of the French Open this 12 months, to advance to the principle draw of the Eastbourne Open in England
MANILA, Philippines – Alex Eala has claimed one other prime 100 sufferer.
Eala secured a spot in the principle draw of the WTA 250 Lexus Eastbourne Open by surviving a battle of nerves versus world No. 56 Hailey Baptiste, 6-7 (1), 7-6 (4), 6-1, within the final spherical of the qualifiers on the Court docket 2 of the Devonshire Park Garden Tennis Membership in England on Sunday, June 22.
In a match that lasted 2 hours and 47 minutes, Eala proved to be sturdier as she dominated a gassed Baptiste within the deciding set.
The third set was in stark distinction of the primary two units, which each went to a tiebreak.
Baptise, 23, despatched a robust message by racing to a 3-0 lead within the opening set, and though she noticed Eala pull degree, the American stamped her class within the tiebreak, profitable 7-1.
It was Eala’s flip within the driver’s seat for many of the second set at the same time as Baptiste saved up at each step.
The 20-year-old Eala had quite a few probabilities to finish the set when she held set factors at 5-4 and 6-5, however Baptiste held on to power a tiebreak. Eala, nevertheless, zoomed to a 5-1 lead within the tiebreak earlier than finally profitable at 7-4.
Eala got here ready for an opponent seeded first within the qualifying rounds. Baptiste was additionally operating with a ton of confidence after making the fourth spherical of the French Open earlier this month, her finest exhibiting in a Grand Slam occasion.
However that was not sufficient to dampen Eala’s resolve to make the principle draw of one of many two ultimate pre-Wimbledon occasions, the opposite being the WTA 500 Unhealthy Homburg in Germany held on the identical dates because the Eastbourne Open.
The victory over Baptiste was a becoming follow-up to Eala’s dominant show on Saturday, when she blasted her former doubles accomplice Zeynep Sonmez of Turkey, 6-1, 6-3, within the opening spherical of the qualifiers.
That is the second straight week that Eala superior to the principle draw of a WTA 250 competitors as she seeks to have extra matches on grass to spice up her preparations for the Wimbledon Championships set to start on June 30.
She reached the principle draw of the Lexus Nottingham Open final week however fell within the first spherical. – Rappler.com
