New year, big win: Alex Eala dominates in WTA 125 Canberra round of 16

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Alex Eala comes out all business on the first day of 2025, delivering a commanding victory to stay in the hunt for her first title in the new year in Australia

MANILA, Philippines – What was projected to be a tightly contested encounter between two evenly matched foes turned out to be a one-sided affair.

Alex Eala opened the new year in explosive form, dominating Arianne Hartono of the Netherlands in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, on Wednesday, January 1, in the second round of the WTA 125 Workday Canberra International in Australia.

It was a surprisingly breezy win for Eala for a number of reasons against a veteran opponent.

Hartono looked impressive in the opening round on Tuesday, December 31, when she upended second seed Anne Bondar of Hungary in three sets at the Canberra International Tennis Centre.

The 28-year-old Dutch, who has qualified twice for the main draw of the Australian Open, is coming off a solid 2024 which saw her achieve a career-high world ranking of 135 last April.

Eala faced Hartono once previously, prevailing in a close match, 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-1, in the semifinals of the ITF Roehampton in August of 2024, a tournament that Eala eventually won.

The 19-year-old Eala was all business on the first day of 2025, jumping the gun on her experienced foe by breaking serve in the second game and opening a 3-0 advantage in the first set.

Hartono managed to win the next two games to narrow the deficit, but that was the closest she could get as Eala maintained enough separation to take the opening set in just nine games, 6-3.

Hartono initially displayed more spunk and fight in the second set, coming back from a service break in the fifth game by breaking Eala in the sixth to level the count at 3-3.

That proved to be the last stand for the product of the University of Mississippi, who in 2018, became the first Dutch to win the US NCAA Division I women’s championship.

Eala broke Hartono’s serves in the seventh and ninth games to close out the match in just an hour and 11 minutes, even quicker than Eala’s straight-set victory in the previous round against Sinja Kraus of Austria, which lasted an hour and 20.

With the win, Eala advances to the quarterfinals where she should like her chances against another familiar foe.

The world No. 148 Filipina will face fellow 19-year-old Taylah Preston of Australia, who’s also coming off a career-high world ranking of 134 in March of 2024.

Eala has beaten Preston in all their three previous encounters, including twice in 2024. – Rappler.com

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