Alex Eala achieved another milestone as she advanced to her first women’s $25,000 quarterfinals on Thursday, February 11 in the Trophee de la Ville pro event in Grenoble, France.

Eala rallied from a set down to defeat Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) No. 154 and the event’s No. 7 seed Cristina Bucsa of Spain, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (10-8) in the 2nd round.

In the opening set, Eala tried to keep up with the 23-year-old Spaniard when she knotted the score at 2-2. But Bucsa shut her out with 4 straight games to claim the early advantage.

The 15-year-old tennis sensation, though, found her footing in the 2nd set as she went up 4-1 and brought the match to a decider before Bucsa can stage a comeback.

It was a neck-and-neck deciding set when Bucsa broke serve early to go up 2-1. Though Eala equalized at 3-3 with her own break point, the stalemate dragged until the tie break.

The Filipina powered through and finally closed out the match after going up 10-8.

Eala was able to see action in her fourth straight pro tournament after she was given a slot through the International Tennis Federation (ITF) junior player exempt program.

Through the program, the top-ranked juniors players are allotted a number of pro tournament spots within the year.

Since Eala finished with a year-end world No. 3 ranking in the juniors circuit, she is allowed to join up to 3 $25,000 and 2 $60,000 events this year.

The Filipina tennis ace kicked off the year with a maiden pro title in the ITF Rafael Nadal Academy (RNA) World Tennis Tour in Manacor, Spain.

Her first pro title romp propelled her to the top 1000 of the WTA rankings as she stands at No. 942.

After kicking off the 2020 season with her maiden Grand Slam title in Melbourne, the rising tennis star became the Philippines’ first junior Grand Slam semifinalist in 35 years in the Roland Garros girls singles tournament. – Rappler.com