Alex Eala opened her debut match on the Dubai Responsibility Free Tennis Championships with a win after her first spherical opponent Hayley Baptiste retired with a 6-4, 0-1 lead. The Filipino participant capped off his swing within the Center East along with his first WTA 1000 win of the season.
It was a repeat of final yr’s Lexus Eastbourne Open qualifying spherical, when the 20-year-old scored an exciting 6-7, 7-6, 6-1 victory over the Thirty ninth-ranked American.
Ila confirmed early management from the baseline, surviving a troublesome opening that noticed each gamers maintain serve for the primary 4 video games. The set shortly grew to become a battle of returns, with each groups breaking thrice in a row, testing their serve patterns and reactions to second balls.
The decisive second got here with the third break, when Ila made the depend 4-3. Ila then held serve within the eighth sport to take a 5-3 benefit earlier than counting on depth and placement to dominate rallies and calmly serve out to finish the set.
The second set started with one other prolonged service sport, and Baptiste held agency regardless of continued stress. Nonetheless, after only one extra match, the American complained of discomfort in his stomach and was pressured to retire, giving Ila a spot within the spherical of 32.
Statistically, Eala’s effectivity made the distinction.
She wins 70% of her service factors, completes 77% of her first serves, and is persistently in aggressive positions. In the meantime, Baptiste struggled to defend his play, committing three double faults that swung the momentum at key moments within the first set.
The Filipino’s subsequent match will likely be a troublesome take a look at in opposition to sixth seed Jasmine Paolini, a matchup that can require sustained aggression and sharper execution as Ila seems to construct on her breakthrough victory in Dubai.
