Eala rolls to Manacor ITF quarters

MANILA, Philippines — Filipina tennis ace Alex Eala netted a first pro-career quarterfinals appearance after a stunning upset of top seed Seone Mendez of Australia, 6-4, 6-1, in the W15 Manacor ITF Tournament hosted by the Rafael Nadal Academy yesterday in Spain.

Picking up where she left off in a dominant first-round win over Italy’s Anna Paradisi (6-1, 6-2), Eala zoomed to a 3-0 start and never looked back to pull the rug from under the favored Mendez.

The 15-year-old Eala will next clash with fifth seed Carole Monnet of France, with the Filipina lass determined to get going in her first tourney after a banner 2020.

Just before the pandemic, Eala announced her arrival in the tennis scene in capturing the Australian Open juniors doubles title with Indonesian friend Priska Madelyn Nugroho.

She also made the girls’ singles semifinals of the French Open last October to leap all the way to second place of the ITF junior rankings before slipping to third place at the end of the year.

RNA, where Eala studies and trains as a proud scholar, heaped praises on its protégé rising as the next big thing in world tennis.

“No place like home. For the first time in her career, Alex reaches the quarterfinals of an ITF tournament. Great victory against the No. 1 seed. Let’s keep dreaming. Vamos!” said the academy of Spanish icon Nadal.