Eala grabs her first win of clay season

MANILA, Philippines — Welcome to clay court, Alex Eala.

The Filipina tennis sensation ushered in her clay season with a dominant 6-4, 6-3 victory over hometown bet Julia Grabher in the Linz Open Wednesday morning (Manila time) in Austria.

The victory came before waves of roaring Filipino fans who showed support to their 20-year-old countryman.

“I kept the intensity well throughout the match. She's a very intense player and has really good shots. So, I'm really happy with the win,” Eala said after the win.

“[The support] means so much. Hello, mga kababayan. Hindi ko inakala ang dami niyo dito sa Linz, pero salamat sa pagsubaybay sa mga laban ko at magkita tayo tomorrow,” she added.

The two tennisters had a nip-and-tuck first set, with neither player gaining significant advantage.

Grabher held her serve and tied things up at 4-all, but Eala finished the first set off with two straight games, 6-4.

In the second set, the World No. 46 Filipina jumped to a 4-1 lead as she left her opponent in her rearview mirror.

However, Grabher pumped life into her campaign, winning the next two games to inch closer, 3-4.

Eala, though, would not be denied.

She was able to hold on and climb through deuces to break her opponent’s serve and put herself on service for the match point, 5-3.

And there, the Filipina punched in several winners capped by a picture-perfect serve to grab the victory.

Eala, though, will be facing a tough matchup in the second round of the WTA 500 tournament.

She will be taking on World No. 23 and fourth-seeded Jelena Ostapenko in the Round of 16 set later Wednesday (Manila time).

Eala has a winning record against Ostapenko. She defeated the Latvian in the Miami Open last year before getting another win in the Lexus Eastbourne Open a few months later, although the victory came via walkover.