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| Alex Eala scored a huge stunner to open her Miami Open campaign. |
MANILA—Rising Filipino tennis star Alex Eala made a statement in her WTA 1000 Miami Open debut, taking down World No. 73 Katie Volynets of the United States in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3), in their first-round clash early Thursday morning (Manila time).
The 19-year-old tournament wild card showed resilience under pressure, overcoming a rollercoaster second set to secure her first-ever main-draw victory at a WTA 1000 event.
Eala had a shaky start, trailing 1-3 in the opening set, but quickly found her rhythm as she broke Volynets' serve to level the score at 3-3, then seized control by breaking again in the crucial seventh game for a 4-3 lead.
With momentum on her side, the Filipina held serve and pressured Volynets into another service error to clinch the first set, 6-3.
The second set was a tense back-and-forth battle as Eala surged ahead 3-1, but Volynets capitalized on unforced errors to close the gap at 3-2.
The two traded breaks, with Eala still holding a slim advantage at 5-4, before Volynets steadied herself to force a 5-5 deadlock.
The match culminated in a tiebreak, where the American took an early mini-break, but Eala displayed remarkable composure, winning seven of the last nine points to close it out, 7-6 (7-3).
With this breakthrough win, Eala booked a second-round showdown against World No. 25 Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, a former French Open champion.
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