Filipina tennis prodigy and Globe ambassador Alex Eala showed incredible resolve under pressure as she came back from a set down to stun the seventh-seed, Cristina Bucsa of Spain, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6, in the second round of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) W25 Grenoble in France on Thursday.
Eala got off to a rocky start as the 23-year old Bucsa, the 164th-ranked player in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) singles rankings, rattled off four straight points to break a two-all deadlock and grab the first set. The 15-year old Eala, who is no. 903 on the WTA ladder, did not back down and zoomed off to a 4-1 lead in the second set. Bucsa tried to rally by breaking Eala’s serve and holding her own to pull to 4-3. However, the Filipina ace did not flinch and responded with two straight points to capture the second set and send the contest to a rubber match.
The two went toe-to-toe in the third and final set and remained even at 6-6 to send the game to a tiebreaker. There, Eala had to endure a couple of match points from Bucsa before finally vanquishing her Spanish rival, 10-8, to take the last set, 7-6.
The win propelled Eala into the quarterfinals of this $25,000 professional tournament. She will face off against the winner of the second round match between Maja Chwalinska of Poland and France’s own Gaelle Desperrier.