Eala, partner off to winning start in W50 Trnava’s doubles tiff

MANILA, Philippines – Alex Eala had a triumphant start in the W50 Trnava’s doubles play as she and her partner, Turkiye’s Zeynep Sonmez, swept the duo of Chinese Taipei’s En Shuo Liang and China’s Qianhui Tang, 6-2, 6-4.

Sonmez and Eala had a strong start against their fourth-seeded opponents in the first set, turning a 2-2 deadlock to a 6-2 win.

In the second set, the Turkish-Filipina duo tied a 2-3 deficit after a reverse sweep in the sixth game.

They then took the lead in the seventh game, 4-3, as they came back from being down 40-15.

This turned the tide to their favor as they seemingly found a higher gear, winning the second set in 10 games, 6-4.

Sonmez and Eala shocked Liang and Tang with a strong receiving game, winning 26 receiving points against their opponent’s 20.

They also won 30 service points against 28.

The 18-year-old Filipina recently jumped 10 spots in the WTA doubles’ rankings, now being ranked 293rd in the world.

Eala will start the singles’ play of the Slovakia tourney on Wednesday night (Manila time) against rival Anna Bondar.

Bondar went on to win the W75 Porto a few days ago after defeating Eala in the quarterfinals of the Portugal tournament.