Overtime

Alex Eala advances to third round after beating Germany’s Mara Guth

Filipina tennis ace Alex Eala advanced to the third round of the French Open juniors tournament after defeating Mara Guth of Germany, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4, Monday at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France.

/ 7 October 2020

The 15-year-old Eala sealed her way to the third round of the Fresh Open tourney which almost slipped in her hand after a strong opening set but rose after the delay that momentarily halted the match due to rain. 

Eala started strong against Germany’s Guth as she beat her in just 35 minutes with a commendable 83 percent on first-serve points.

Eventually, Guth resurrected in the second set and broke Eala’s serve five times which resulted in a decider. 

A downpour had delayed the third set for about 2 hours and 12 minutes, eventually, Eala almost experienced an upset as Guth grabbed the lead at 4-3.

In the end, Eala broke the lead at 5-4 and finished at 10th game without giving a point to Guth, 6-4.

After the game, the young tennis star is now the fourth-placed in the world in the International Tennis Federation girls juniors rankings and will head on Spain’s Leyre Romero Gormaz.

The two will face each other for a spot in the quarterfinals at Roland Garros.