Alex Eala teamed up with hometown bet Marina Bassols Ribera and is off to a good start after upsetting the No. 2 seed pair Ankita Raina and Prarthana Thombare of India in the Round of 32 of the W100 Vitoria-Gasteiz women’s doubles Wednesday at the Peña Vitoriana Tennis Club in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain.
It took Eala and Bassols Ribera, the one who defeated the three-time Southeast Asian Games medalist in the final of the W60 Madrid last year, one hour and four minutes to dispose of their Indian foes and advance to the Round of 16.
The Rafael Nadal Academy graduate is looking to win her first doubles title after losing in the final of the W25 Platja D’Aro in Spain with Oksana Selekhmeteva with a 3-6, 5-7 loss to Lithuania’s Justina Mikulskyte and Oana Georgeta Simion of Romania.
Up next for the Filipino-Spanish duo is Estelle Cascino of France and Diana Marcinkevica of Latvia in the Round of 16 as of press time.
“First win of the week feels good!” Eala, obviously thrilled over the latest win, said in a social media post.
Also happening as of writing is Eala’s singles match against fifth seed and Romanian netter Jaqueline Adina Cristian in the Round of 32.
The 17-year-old Filipino netter is gunning for her fourth professional title after winning the W25 Yecla women’s singles tournament in Spain last month.
This is part of her buildup for her debut in the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China from 23 September to 8 October.
