Alex Eala opened her Madrid Open campaign in dominant fashion, defeating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 6-3, 6-3, on April 22 to move into the Round of 64.
The Filipina took control of the match as Pavlyuchenkova struggled with unforced errors, allowing Eala to secure the straight-sets victory in just over an hour and a half. Up next for Eala is a meeting with Belgium’s Elise Mertens, currently ranked No. 21 in the world.
A win would mark Eala’s first appearance in the third round of a WTA 1000 event. She is also competing in doubles alongside Zeynep Sönmez as a wildcard entry. Eala said she was pleased with how she handled the fast-paced clay-court encounter.
Anastasia Sergeyevna “Nastia” Pavlyuchenkova is a Russian professional tennis player. She reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 11 on 8 November 2021. Pavlyuchenkova has won twelve singles titles on the WTA Tour, and contested a major final at the 2021 French Open.
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