Filipina tennis sensation Alex Eala kicked off her grass-court campaign in commanding fashion, sweeping past Australia’s Priscilla Hon, 6-0, 6-2, to secure a spot in the second round of the Birmingham Open on Tuesday.
As the tournament’s top seed, Eala showed little sign of rust, overwhelming Hon from the opening serve and racing through the first set in just 30 minutes.
The 20-year-old continued her relentless play in the second set, building a commanding 5-0 lead and appearing headed for a flawless finish.
Hon managed to halt the momentum by breaking Eala in the sixth game to trim the deficit to 5-1. The Australian then fought off a match point in the following game as a string of unforced errors from Eala briefly extended the contest.
Any hopes of a comeback were quickly extinguished, however, as Eala regained her composure and closed out the match with a love hold.
The victory gives Eala a 2-1 edge over Hon in their head-to-head series and marks her first win against the Australian on grass. Their previous meetings were contested on hard courts in Roehampton and Ningbo.
Eala now awaits the winner of the first-round clash between Germany’s Greet Minnen and Russia’s Alina Charaeva.
After the match, the Filipina star took a moment to thank her supporters in attendance.
“Maraming salamat sa suporta,” Eala told the Filipino fans in Birmingham. “Magkita tayo bukas.”
