Filipina teen tennis sensation Alex Eala is out to impress once again as she opened her 2020 W15 Castellon pro tournament with an upset win over Alba Carrillo Marin on Tuesday, November 3.

Eala defeated the 24-year-old Spaniard, who notched a career ITF singles ranking of No. 16, 6-1, 7-6 (2), to advance to the 2nd round of the pro tournament. (Rappler Talk Sports: Alex Eala on historic 2020 French Open stint)

The 15-year-old tennis ace will face Russia’s Oksana Selekhmeteva, who also entered the tournament as a junior reserved player like Eala.  (RECAP: How Alex Eala marched to a historic French Open semis stint)

In the first set, though Marin broke serve to cut Eala’s deficit to 3-1, the 2020 Australian Open juniors doubles winner did not falter and scored three-straight games to close out the opening frame.

Marin attempted to gain an advantage in the 2nd set as she went up 3-1, but Eala managed to knot the score at 4-4 and shifted the momentum back to her side by breaking serve twice.

This is the first major tournament Eala joined since her 2020 French Open juniors stint, where she nailed a historic semifinals finish.

Eala set another career performance after becoming the first Filipina to nail a last 4 berth in a junior Grand Slam, following Felix Barrientos 35 years ago in the 1985 Wimbledon juniors tournament. (FAST FACTS: Who is teen tennis sensation Alex Eala?)

The juniors world No. 2 aims to join a mix of women’s tournaments and high-level juniors tournaments this year. – Rappler.com