By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Alex Eala couldn’t ask for a better start in the ongoing French Open qualifiers stage after dominating Ma Ye-Xin of China in straight sets- 6.1, 6.1- on May 20, 2024, in Roland Garros, France.
Ma, the current world no. 197 ranked female tennis player of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), received a demolition exhibition and didn’t stand a chance against the young Filipina netter.
Eala was just all over the court, overpowering Ma with her signature down-the-line forehand winners while also displaying a consistent service game from the get-go.
After almost an hour of majestic tennis, Eala wrapped up the victory without a single service possession broken and rode on a 63% winning percentage on her first service.
Eala only committed two double faults, a wide disparity from her previous International Tennis Federation (ITF) circuit tournament performances.
After the warm up, Eala quickly gained the momentum of the match after breaking Ma two consecutive times to build a sizable lead.
Despite an immediate adjustment from her Chinese opponent when she targeted Eala’s backhand, the Filipina didn’t back down and sent in a barrage of baseline winners to clinch an early 1-0 lead.
Eala maintained her intensity when the second set started and bullied Ma with her top-spin strokes to dictate the pace and the tempo of the match.
Ma had her moments when she held her service possession midway through the second set but Eala sent in the early exclamation point after bombarding the Chinese ace with three consecutive net smashes.
Eala will march to the next round of the Grand Slam qualifiers today, as she is set to square off against Taylah Preston of Australia.
