Alex Eala tirelessly opened another pro title campaign with a victory in the 2nd leg of the ITF Rafael Nadal Academy World Tennis Tour on Wednesday, January 27 in Manacor, Spain

Eala, who is entered as a junior reserved player, pulled off another upset over tournament No. 2 seed Mirjam Bjorklund of Sweden, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

The Filipina teen tennis sensation will face the winner of the match between Spaniard Alba Carrillo Marin and qualifier Lena Papadakis of Germany in the 2nd round. (FAST FACTS: Who is teen tennis sensation Alex Eala?)

In the opening match of the women’s $15,000 tournament, Eala banked on a strong start to escape Bjorklund’s comeback.

However, the 22-year-old Swede broke serve early to level 1-1 in the 2nd set and rode on her newfound momentum to extend the match to a deciding set.

Though Eala bounced back with a 2-0 start to the 3rd set, she later managed to escape a stalemate, going up 5-3 then sealing the win with an ace.

Eala entered the competition fresh from her maiden pro title romp last Sunday, January 24 in the first leg of the tennis tour.

The 15-year-old Filipina defeated 28-year-old hometown bet Yvonne Cavalle-Reimers in the finals.

The Filipina tennis ace was surpassing expectations with notable wins over ITF singles world No. 2 and the event’s top seed Seone Mendez in the 2nd round and the tournament No. 5 Carole Monnet of France in the quarterfinals.

After playing her second straight tournament, Eala will also see action in the 3rd leg of Rafael Nadal Academy-hosted tour that kicks off on February 1.

After kicking off the 2020 season with her maiden Grand Slam title in Melbourne, the 15-year-old tennis star became the Philippines’ first junior Grand Slam semifinalist in 35 years in the Roland Garros girls singles tournament. – Rappler.com