๐ฉ๐ถ๐ฎ ๐๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ๐
MANILA, Philippines โ Alex Eala eked out top-ranked Hailey Baptiste, 6-7(1), 7-6(4), 6-1, to punch her ticket to the main draw of the 2025 Lexus Eastbourne Open in England on June 22.
The 20-year-old Filipina dropped a rough opening-set tiebreak, 1-7, and nearly lost grip of the second-set breaker, as Baptiste sliced Ealaโs 5-1 cushion down to 5-4 with three straight points, but Eala recovered and strung together two clutch points to take the set and force a decider.
The momentum flipped in the third, as Eala stormed ahead with an early break and carved out a 3-0 lead.
A medical timeout from Baptiste followedโprompted by an apparent lower-body issueโbut the American chose to continue.
Eala pressed on with urgency, stretching her lead to 5-0 through heavy baseline rallies and precise shot-making.
Baptiste briefly steadied to hold serve in the sixth game, staving off a bagel, but Eala refused to slow down.
Facing a 15-40 hole in the final game, the Filipina regrouped and surged with four straight points to complete the turnaround.
The win marked Ealaโs second straight fightback in Eastbourne after she dispatched Turkeyโs Zeynep Sรถnmez, 6-1, 6-3, in the opening round of qualifiers.
Now ranked a career-high World No. 74, Eala sets her sights on World No. 61 Lucia Bronzetti of Italy in the Round of 32.
