Filipina netter Alex Eala survived a marathon three-setter to move forward in the Singapore Open qualifiers.
Alex Eala recovered from a second set bungle to move on to the next round of qualifiers in the ongoing Singapore Tennis Open on Saturday.
After a dominating opener, Eala ended up needing all three sets to stave off Japanese foe Sara Saito, 6-1, 6-7(1), 7-5, to avoid another early exit just days after she fell out of the W100 Bengaluru in India earlier this week.
Eala battled Saito for 2 hours and 41 minutes as she survived a third set comeback try from the Japanese.
Eala looked primed for a lopsided win when she seized the 5-2 lead in the third set, but Saito fought back to tie the count at 5-all. Thankfully for Eala, she was able to break the Japanese star in the 11th game before holding her serve to hang on for the victory.
In Set 2, Eala had a chance to finish off Saito with a 5-4 lead but squandered late, forcing the match into a third-set decider.
Eala thus faces a tougher challenge in Swiss hitter Simona Waltert in the next stage of qualifying on Sunday.
Waltert has a 2-1 head-to-head advantage over Eala. She previously won over Chloe Paquet of France in her opening match of qualifiers.
The Singapore Open is the first WTA event of the year in Southeast Asia.
Eala hopes to have a deeper run in Singapore after exiting in India in the Round of 16. Previously, she fell in her opening match of qualifiers in the Australian Open.