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| Alex Eala sent back Zeynep Sonmez, the biggest riser in the latest WTA rankings, back to earth with a first-round elimination in Abu Dhabi. Luis Fabregar (file photo) |
MANILA--Alex Eala returned to her winning ways after a shock quarterfinal exit at home with a 6-4, 6-3 win against Zeynep Sonmez in the first round of the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open early Tuesday (Philippine Time).
Eala, who was stunned in the quarterfinals of the Philippine Women's Open last week by eventual champion Camila Osorio, made a quick breakthrough when she broke Sonmez's serve to take a 2-0 lead in Set 1.
Sonmez, still on a high after making to the third round of the Australian Open, took the break point back, and Set 1 eventually became a break point battle.
Eala prevailed after winning Game 10 to take Set 1.
She then raced to a 3-0 lead in Set 2 before Sonmez finally won Game 4 to go on the board.
Sonmez threatened another comeback after breaking Eala's serve to take Game 5, but the latter won the next two games to go 5-2 up before securing the match in Game 9.
Eala, now ranked number 45 in the world, converted six break points against Sonmez's four.
Often scrutinized for her service, Eala staggered Sonmez with two aces while successfully keeping her Turkish opponent from getting one of her own.
Eala also won 36 service points against Sonmez's 28 while also tallying 35 return points.
Up next for Eala in the singles is Aliaksandra Sasnovich, who stunned eighth-seeded Paula Badosa, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1.
Eala will focus for the meantime in the doubles, where she teams up with Janice Tjen later Tuesday against the pair of Fil-Canadian Leylah Fernandez and Kristina Mladenovic.
On the other hand, it is a reality check for Sonmez, who was the biggest riser in the latest WTA rankings after jumping more than 30 spots to number 79.
