Photo from Tennis365
It’s an early uphill battle for Filipina tennis ace Alexandra ‘Alex’ Eala as she drew a tough Berlin opener where she has to get past dangerous Donna)
Vekić of Croatia in the opening round test.
The country’s pride eyes a potential clash with Kazakhstan world No.2 and 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, who is playing against British ace Emma Raducanu in the final of the HSBC Championships at press time.
Eala had just competed at Queen’s Club, where she missed her fortune by crashing out in the second round with a loss to her friend and the tourney’s sixth seed, Iva Jovic of the United States, in straight sets.
At 29, Vekić is no stranger to the Filipina as they have previously faced each other, the last time in January at the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand. In that match, the world No. 33 Eala prevailed in three sets in the Round of 32.
The Quezon City still has to rediscover her best form after a demanding two-week stretch on the tour, drawing confidence from her title-winning run at the Birmingham Classic last week—her second WTA singles crown.
However, Vekic, currently ranked No. 76, has been in solid form over the past two months, reaching the semifinal at the Linz Open and advancing to the final in the WTA 125 Istanbul during the latter stages of the clay court swing before carrying that momentum at the start of the grass season.
The Croatian also boasts a wide experience in the Grand Slams, making into the semifinal of the 2024 Wimbledon and the quarterfinal of the 2023 Australian Open and 2019 US Open.