MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala continued her strong showing in the Madrid Open after advancing to the round of 16 in the doubles competition.
Teaming up with Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez, Eala secured a dominant 6-2, 6-2 victory over Hungary’s Fanny Stollar and Chinese Taipei’s Chan Hao-ching.
Despite facing a more experienced doubles pair—Stollar and Chan are ranked 27th and 38th in the discipline—the Eala-Sonmez tandem displayed strong coordination and control throughout the match, which lasted just over an hour.
Eala and Sonmez, who are both primarily singles players, capitalized on their chemistry to outmaneuver their opponents and dictate the pace of play.
The win marks Eala’s third successful opening-round doubles campaign this season. She previously reached the semifinals of the ASB Classic in New Zealand alongside American Iva Jovic and repeated the feat at the Abu Dhabi Open with Indonesia’s Janice Tjen.
In the next round, Eala and Sonmez are projected to face the second-seeded duo of Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, who have already captured titles together this year at Indian Wells and Miami.
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