MANILA – Alexandra Eala made a strong opening statement at the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open, rolling past Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez to reach the second round of the WTA 500 tournament early Tuesday (Philippine time).
Ranked No. 45 in the world, the Filipina controlled the match from the baseline and closed out a 6-4, 6-3 victory over the 79th-ranked Sonmez in one hour and 29 minutes.
After taking the first set, Eala raced ahead in the second, building a 3-0 cushion. Sonmez attempted a comeback by stringing together two games, but Eala answered with aggressive shot-making to regain the break and pull away.
Though Sonmez briefly levelled the pressure in the second set, Eala held firm and finished the contest with another service break.
The result marked Eala’s second straight win over Sonmez, following her earlier triumph at the Eastbourne Open qualifiers last season.
Sonmez had arrived in Abu Dhabi in good form after making a deep run in the Australian Open qualifying rounds, while Eala recently posted a quarterfinal finish at the WTA 125 Philippine Women’s Open.
The Victorias City, Negros Occidental-native Eala will next face Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus, who shocked eighth seed Paola Badosa in the opening round.
The 20-year-old Eala is also set to see action in doubles later Tuesday (Wednesday in the Philippines), teaming up with Indonesia’s Janice Tjen as she continues her campaign in the UAE./PN
