Alex Eala quickly dispatches Chilean foe in W25 Palma del Rio

MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala is eyeing another deep run in a professional tourney with an optimistic start to the W25 Palma del Rio in Spain on Tuesday.

Eala, who is now the highest ranked Southeast Asian in the WTA rankings, quickly disposed of qualifier Jimar Geraldine Gerald Gonzales of Chile in the Round of 32, 6-2, 6-0.

In less than an hour, the 17-year-old bulldozed her way to the next round where she faces the winner between Valeria Savinykh and second seed Jessika Ponchet.

It can be recalled that Eala conquered multiple seeded opponents en route to the final of the W60 Madrid earlier this month.

She finished runner-up in her first championship match in a 60K tournament.

Eala gets a rest day in singles on Wednesday as her next opponent is yet to be decided.

But she plays doubles with home bet Marina Bassols Ribera, who beat her in the W60 Madrid final.

She and Bassols Ribera are seeded fourth in women's doubles and they play Marta Huqi Gonzales Encinas of Spain and Ashley Lahey of the US in the quarterfinal Wednesday.