MANILA — Filipina tennis sensation Alexandra Eala snapped a two-match losing streak in emphatic fashion, overpowering France’s Diane Parry, 6-3, 6-1, to storm into the round of 16 of the Ningbo Open in China on Monday.
The 21-year-old Eala delivered a commanding performance in the opening round of the WTA 500 tournament, displaying superior shot-making, consistency and precision to dispatch her French opponent in straight sets.
The victory ended a brief slump for Eala, who suffered consecutive defeats in the semifinals of the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya and the second round of the Wuhan Open.
Determined to regain her winning momentum, Eala dictated the pace against Parry, winning 63 percent of the total points while limiting her opponent to just 37 percent.
The Filipina also capitalized on Parry’s erratic play, committing only nine unforced errors compared with the Frenchwoman’s 25.
Eala registered 12 winners against Parry’s 11, highlighting her ability to combine aggressive shot-making with disciplined execution.
Her winner-to-unforced-error ratio of 1.33 was significantly better than Parry’s 0.44, underscoring the consistency that enabled her to dominate the contest.
Eala also recorded one ace and one double fault, while Parry finished without an ace and committed two double faults.
“I’m very happy with my performance. I think it was a really good first round,” Eala said in a post-game interview.
“I think she’s had a really good year. So, congrats to her for doing what she’s done and I’m really happy to be in the second round,” Eala added on Parry.
The convincing triumph provided a timely confidence boost for Eala as she seeks to rediscover the form that propelled her to a WTA title in the Washington area earlier this year.
More importantly, the straight-set victory allowed the Filipina to advance without dropping a set, strengthening her bid for a deeper run in the prestigious Chinese tournament.
Eala will attempt to sustain her resurgence in the round of 16 as she continues her pursuit of another breakthrough performance on the WTA Tour./PN
