By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Alex Eala received a rude welcome after getting swept by Bernarda Pera of the US- 6.0, 6.3- during the Round of 32 stage of the Guangzhou Open on October 22, 2024, at the Nansha International Tennis Center in China.
After two wins to earn the main draw ticket in China, Eala’s hopes of a major championship title ended at the hands of the rolling Pera who barely committed an error in their clash.
Pera immediately caught fire in the opening set after capturing her top-spin forehand rhythm, which caused problems with Eala’s backhand return.
With Eala’s backhand return stroke becoming a concern in the game, Pera didn’t think twice and capitalized on her mistakes as the American cruised through with an early break point.
To counter Eala’s deep forehand groundstroke, Pera placed her slice backhand well that glided to the top of the net, hitting the Filipina’s no man’s land area.
Those short balls deployed by Pera also became the reason why she extended her advantage, keeping Eala out of her comfort zone which is the baseline.
Following two break points and a consistent service game, Pera was on track to a flawless finish after limiting Eala to no points in the opening period and stole the momentum heading into the second and final set.
Eala had a sigh of relief at the start of the second set when her baseline strokes went in, including her backhand, which saved her some points to break through the game.
However, Pera, who was in the zone after a 6-0 outing in the first set, went back to her original game plan and shut down Eala’s baseline area with her short spin balls.
From her forehand chops to her wide-angle slices, Pera showcased her varied offensive arsenal in the final set and handed the Filipina a beating in China.
Despite the early exit, Eala still had a good tournament run after winning all of her games during the qualifying round.
Eala first got the better of Elena Pridankina, blanking her in just two sets, 6-2, 6-0, and formalized her main draw entry by surviving home bet Gao Xinyu, 2-6, 7-6, 6-2.
