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– 8 hours ago
FILE– Filipino tennis player Alex Eala is vying to advance to the Wimbledon main draw. -VENETO OPEN/RAFA NADAL ACADEMY
Filipino tennis ace Alex Eala just moved a win away from entering the main draw of Wimbledon.
Eala beat Tamara Zidansek of Slovenia, 1-6, 7-6(9), 6-3 in a marathon match in the second round of the Wimbledon qualifiers on Wednesday, pushing her closer to a pro Grand Slam debut.
READ: Alex Eala hits biggest pro career win at Madrid Open over world no. 41
Eala battled back from a first-set loss and saved eight match points to force a decider against her higher-ranked opponent, who was seeded No. 14 in the qualifiers.
Now standing in the way of a historic Wimbledon stint is Lulu Sun of New Zealand. Their match is on Thursday night, Philippine time.
Sun won 6-4 4-6 7-6 (6) Czech Republic’s Gabriela Knutson to advance against Eala.
READ: Alex Eala rises to new-career best in WTA rankings
Eala, the first Filipino to capture a singles’ Grand Slam by ruling the 2022 US Open girls singles, opened the Wimbledon qualifiers with a 7-6, 6-4 win on Tuesday over France’s Jessika Ponchet.
In May, the 19-year-old Eala also closed in on a main draw berth in the French Open but yielded to Julia Riera of Argentina in the final round.
Eala is currently ranked world No. 162.