Eala downs Romanian foe to enter Nottingham Open main draw

MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala hacked out a 6-3, 6(4)-7, 6-3 win over Romania’s Aica Todoni and advanced to the main draw of the 2025 Lexus Nottingham Open Monday in England.

Eala wasted a 4-2 lead in the second set for a foiled sweep bid but still took care of business in the rubber by unleashing a 4-1 finishing kick to seal the deal in the finale of the two-round qualifiers.

The 20-year-old Filipina ace needed more than two hours to grind out that victory amidst Todoni’s 12 aces that sent her to a Round of 32 duel against the seasoned Polish bet Magda Linette in the main draw.

Eala, WTA No. 77, will be in for a taller order against the 33-year-old Linette, who’s WTA No. 31 and seeded sixth in the elite $250,000 tourney.

Linette is already qualified into the main draw as Eala needed to score two wins in the qualifying round to advance.

And she did just that by displaying immense composure in two three-set thrillers.

Eala grinded out a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win against France’s Varvara Gracheva in the first round before stamping another resilient performance against her fellow 20-year-old Todoni in the finale.

It’s a sweet revenge for Eala after a quarterfinal exit in the Ilkley Open last week and should help her fine-tune a month-long preparation for a big debut in Wimbledon set on June 30 to July 11 in London.

Following the French Open, the Wimbledon will be the second straight Grand Slam tourney for Eala this year after barging into WTA’s elite Top 100 rankings to become eligible in all major main draws.