MANILA, Philippines – Alex Eala eked out a gritty win over Germany's Mara Guth on Monday (early Tuesday, Manila time), , 6-1, 5-7, 6-4, to move on to the third round of the French Open Juniors tournament.
Eala needed bested Guth in a match that lasted for two hours and 12 minutes.
It was a strong start for the 15-year-old Filipina in the opening set, winning all but one of the seven games in the set.
But it was a different story in the second with Guth controlling the pace. At one point, the German led Eala, 4-2.
Eala would eventually tie the set 5-5 but faltered in two consecutive games and went into the deciding third set.
However, the game was delayed for a substantial period of time going into the final set due to the rain.
Fortunately for Eala, the long break didn't affect her game as she dictated the pace of the set.
Guth broke Eala in the seventh game and took the lead late, 4-3, but Eala would go on to win three straight games — including a love game in the match-clinching game to win the matchup.
Next up for Eala is Spain's Leyre Romero Gormaz in the third round.
Eala will also compete in the girls' doubles tournament with American partner Elvina Kalieva. They will take on Italian duo Lisa Pigato and Eleonora Alvisi in the first round.