MANILA, Philippines – Alex Eala worked her way towards the main draw of the WTA Thailand Open after acing her first qualifying match at the True Arena in Hua Hin on Saturday, January 28.

The 17-year-old scored a victory over an opponent almost twice her age as she overcame China’s Han Xinyun, 6-1, 7-6 (6), to advance to the second and last round of the qualifiers.

After cruising in the opening set, Eala fell behind 0-2 and 5-6 in the second salvo before she regained her bearings in the 12th game to forge a tiebreaker.

Eala then jumped to a 6-0 lead in the tiebreaker only to witness the 32-year-old Han – ranked 143 spots higher in the WTA list – rack up six straight points to equalize.

But Eala appeared to have already learned her lesson after squandering a huge lead in her qualifying match in the Australian Open – her first pro-level Grand Slam appearance – when she lost to Japan’s Misaki Doi earlier this January.

The WTA No. 214 Filipina had moved on the cusp of sweeping Doi after grabbing a 5-2 lead in the second set before her colossal collapse.

Refusing to suffer the same fate against Han, Eala owned the next two points to wrap up the match in 1 hour and 53 minutes.

Eala will face the winner between Ekaterina Yashina of Russia and Kristina Dmitruk of Belarus next for a spot in the main draw.

Only six out of the 24 players in the qualifiers will advance to the main draw, where the likes of former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu of Canada await. – Rappler.com