By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Alex Eala needed to be at her A-game after surviving a hard-hitting Mara Gruth of Germany in three sets, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4, in the second round of the 2020 French Open.
Despite the flawless first set for the Filipina tennis sensation, the German rising star drew herself back in the match and made it a contest after breaking Eala’s service to notch a 5-7 second set win.
Both tennis aces engaged in a slugfest after trading solid baseline hits in the third and final set only to be decided after a momentum-shifting Eala break.
Deadlocked at 4, Eala turned the pressure around after a wild sequence to clinch and break the German’s serve, 5-4.
Eala then cruised through her service, held it and relied on her solid groundstrokes to outlast Gruth in one of the best juniors’ singles matches so far.
With the crucial victory, Eala will now face world no. 53 Leyre Romero Gormaz of Spain and will seek to gain an edge after defeating two staple juniors’ singles players in the first two rounds.
