Filipina netter Alex Eala reached the second round of the third and final leg of the International Tennis Federation’s W15 Manacor, in Mallorca, Spain.
The 15-year-old Eala will face one of toughest rivals when she battles the top-seeded Spanish bet, Silvia Ambrosio, for a spot in the third round.
Eala forged the showdown with Ambrosio after she hurdled Ana Lantigua De La Nuez of Spain, 6-0, 6-2, Wednesday night, in the opener.
The young Eala needed an hour and 27 minutes to get past de la Nuez.
The 20-year-old Nuez was getting 50 percent of her first serves in and was scoring 17 points out of 24 attempts.
But Eala was more accurate by knocking in 16 points out of 33 first serves that went in.
Eala pulled off a perfect first set against the 20-year-old hometown bet, where she had a single service ace on top of 4/6 break points won.
The 24-year-old Ambrosio, who is ranked 586 in the world in the ITF singles, entered the second round when she turned back Margot Yerolymos, 6-4, 6-3.
Second seed Shiho Akita of Japan also earned a second-round berth following her 6-1, 6-4 triumph over Lisa Pigato of Italy.
