Philippine tennis star Alex Eala beat Austria's Julia Grabher 6-4, 6-3 in the round of 32 at the Linz Open on Tuesday, marking a strong start to her clay court season. She will next face former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko. The 20-year-old, ranked 46th in the world, prevailed in 1 hour and 42 minutes.
At the Linz Open, a WTA 500 event in Austria, Alex Eala overcame local favorite Julia Grabher, ranked 89th in the world. In the first set, they held serve through nine games to reach 5-5, but Eala broke in the 10th after saving a game point with three straight points, including a forehand winner.
Eala then surged to a 4-1 lead in the second set and held off Grabher's comeback to secure the 1 hour, 42-minute victory.
"I did not expect that there would be many of you here in Linz, but thank you for following my matches and see you tomorrow," Eala said in a mix of Filipino and English. She added, "I kept the intensity well throughout the match. She’s a very intense player and has really good shots so I’m really happy with the win."
Eala aims for a stronger clay season this year after failing to advance beyond the second round in four clay events last year. She holds a 2-0 record against No. 4 seed Ostapenko, ranked 23rd, who received a first-round bye.
