Eala bests Baptiste to seal place in Eastbourne Open main draw

MANILA, Philippines -- Alex Eala is heading to the main draw of the Lexus Eastbourne Open after digging deep against Hailey Baptiste in the final round of the qualifiers, 6(1)-7, 7-6(4), 6-1 Sunday evening (Manila time) in Great Britain.

The match took two hours and 47 minutes to complete, with the two tennisters not giving an inch through the first two sets.

But ultimately, the World No. 77 singles’ tennis player took command in the deciding third set, knocking off the top-seeded qualifier, who is currently ranked 56th in the world.

Eala dug out of a 0-3 deficit in the first set,tying it up at 3-all before Baptiste took the upper hand, 5-4.

But back-to-back games by the Filipina pushed her ahead, 6-5, but the American forced the tiebreak.

There, it was all Baptiste as she showcased her mastery.

Come the second set, it was the 20-year-old Eala’s turn to grab the advantage, going up 2-0 and 4-2 before losing it.

Baptiste tied the set at 5-all, before the Asian Games double bronze medalist went up, 6-5.

But the 23-year-old forced the tiebreak anew, which was dominated by the eighth-seeded qualifier this time around, 7-4.

Exhaustion seemed to bother Baptiste in the third set, as Eala jumped to a 5-0 lead and never looked back.

The American was able to steal a game, 5-1, before the Filipina sensation sealed the deal.

The two tennisters had almost identical service points won, with Baptiste punching in 53 to Eala’s 51. But the Rafa Nadal Academy scholar won 58 receiving points as opposed to the American’s 48.

Eala earlier defeated Turkiye’s Zeynep Sonmez in the first round of the qualifiers.

The Eastbourne Open is the Filipina’s final test before her Wimbledon debut, which is set to kick off June 30.