To begin the festivities of Sao Paulo Open in Brazil, Alex Eala easily defeated French opponent Yasmine Mansouri in Round of 32 in the early morning of September 10.
In Her Championship Form
The 20 year old tennis legend from the Philippines started out firing, showcasing what Eala has learned from her stint at Guadalajara Open in Mexico.
The No. 61 Filipina opened the match with a tense 10-minute game filled with multiple deuces, but once she held serve, the Filipina quickly shifted gears. Her baseline aggression and well-timed drop shots carried her to a swift Set 1 win in just 32 minutes.
FINAL SCORE OF SET 1: 6-0
In the second frame, Eala raced to a 3-0 cushion before Mansouri, ranked No. 380, finally managed to hold serve. The French player showed resistance at 3-1 and later at 4-2, even dragging one game into three deuces, but Eala remained composed. She responded with clean service holds and punctuated the match with a decisive break for the Set 2 sweep.
FINAL SCORE OF SET 2: 6-2
Acknowledging her Filipino Supporters in Attendance
“This is my first time in Brazil and my first time in South America, actually, so I’m so happy to see that the crowd is so lively,” Eala said in an interview.
“I didn’t expect so many people to come out and watch me play. I guess I was a bit lucky to be sandwiched in between two great Brazilians, so I’m just happy to be here and to be able to play well,” she added as she refers to the earlier matches played by high ranked Brazilian athletes Laura Pigossi and Beatriz Haddad Maia.
Up Next: Round of 16 Versus No. 188 Julia Riera of Argentina
With this win, Alex now moves to the Round of 16 where the 23 year old Argentinian Julia Riera waits for her.
Interestingly, the two have faced each other in the past twice with the record of 1-1.
They first battled at the clay court of Roland Garros in France last year wherein Riera got the win after 3 sets to move past the Qualifying Round 3. Their 2nd meeting happened also in 2024 during the Round of 32 in the ITF W100 Cary Open but this time, Alex won in 2 sets.
Their 3rd meeting will happen tomorrow early morning, September 11.
