Alex Eala begins another Grand Slam bid in Wimbledon qualifiers

MANILA, Philippines – Another Grand Slam. Another chance to chase history.

A little over a month since falling in the last round of the French Open qualifiers, Alex Eala embarks on another attempt to become the first Filipina to reach the main draw of a Grand Slam event.

And the 19-year-old Eala got off to a good start, defeating 27-year-old Jessika Ponchet of France in two closely contested sets, 7-6(1), 6-4, on Tuesday, June 25, in the opening round of the Wimbledon qualifiers. 

Eala had to draw valuable lessons from her memory bank as she faced an opponent she had already faced four times in the past, with Ponchet holding a 3-1 advantage in their head-to-head.

Ponchet won their last encounter in three sets in July 2023 in the ITF W100 Vitoria-Gasteiz semifinals in Spain.

So the world No. 162 Eala showed determination in exacting revenge on her higher-ranked opponent, but it did not come easy. 

The Filipina teen standout was up 4-2 in the second set after breaking Ponchet twice in the first three games. Her French rival, though, staged a comeback to inch closer at 5-4. 

With Eala serving for the match in the 10th game, Ponchet threatened to level the score by gaining break point. 

Eala held on to both her nerves and her serve and ended the match after an hour and 50 minutes. 

Her victory came just days after reaching the WTA Challenger Veneto Open quarterfinals in Italy, the farthest she had gone in a WTA event. 

Ponchet had also been in form, making the finals the previous week of the ITF W100 Lexus Ilkley Trophy in Great Britain.

And she did display her sharpness in the opening set as Ponchet rallied from a 5-2 deficit to level the count in the 10th game. 

The score remained tied at 6-6, before Eala wrestled control by jumping to a 4-0 lead in the tiebreaker and sustaining it to win the opening set.

Eala had to overcome Ponchet’s power as the French fired six aces and 35 winners, four more than Eala’s. 

But the Filipina committed 10 less unforced errors compared to her veteran foe and had better service percentage, which spelled the difference in the match.

The road to the main draw gets tougher for Eala, who needs two more wins. She will be up against world No. 110 Tamara Zidensek of Slovenia, a 2021 French Open semifinalist. 

Zidansek, 26, ranked No. 22 in the world in 2022 and reached the Wimbledon second round in 2019. 

The winner of the Eala-Zidansek encounter will have to hurdle the victor of the match between No. 123 Lulu Sun of New Zealand and No. 231 Gabriela Knutson of the Czech Republic to advance to the main draw. – Rappler.com