Number 2 seed and Globe Ambassador Alex Eala punched her way to the 3rd round of the 2020 French Open Juniors Tournament after beating Marah Guth of Germany in three sets, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4.

Eala dug deep in the deciding set, showing maturity and grit to survive the upset bid of her opponent. With the score pegged at 4-4 in the third set, Eala held serve then broke Guth’s serve to get the hard earned win.

Eala took the first set with ease but Guth came back in the second set and broke the Filipina tennis prodigy early in the set and held on to send the game to a decider. 

The two engaged in a close match until Eala came up with winners in the 9th and 10th frame to secure the win.  Just like in the first round, Eala showed great poise and maturity  despite extreme pressure from her opponent.

She won her opening round against Natalia Szabann of Hungary, 6-4, 6-1 after coming back from a 0-4 deficit in the first set.

The 15 year-old and world number 4 will face Spanish bet Leyre Romero Gormaz in the third round.

Aside from competing in the singles, Eala will also start her bid in the doubles tournament with her partner, Elvina Kalieva of the United States. They will face Italians Lisa Pigato and Elenora Alvisi in the opening round.

Eala is a Rafa Nadal Academy scholar in Mallorca,Spain and a Globe Ambassador since 2013. She is on track to win her first-ever singles Grand Slam title. She became the first Filipina to win a Grand Slam title after winning the 2020 Australian Open juniors doubles title early this year with Indonesian partner Priska Nugroho.