Philippine tennis star Alex Eala secured her first career victory at the Wimbledon Championships by defeating Mexico's Renata Zarazua in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2, in London on Wednesday morning, Manila time.
The 21-year-old, seeded No. 29, improved upon her first-round exit during her main-draw debut at the grass-court Grand Slam last year.
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Eala overcame lengthy baseline rallies to claim five consecutive games, closing out the opening set against her former doubles partner, who is ranked world No. 75.
A partisan Filipino crowd cheered Eala as she maintained momentum into the second set. She broke Zarazua's serve early and consolidated the break to establish a 2-0 advantage.
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Zarazua held her subsequent service game, but Eala answered by winning three consecutive games to build a dominant 5-1 lead before serving out the match.
In the second round, Eala will face the winner of the first-round match between Serena Williams and Maya Joint.
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Eala is also scheduled to compete in the doubles tournament alongside Nikola Bartunkova against the tandem of Jeļeņa Ostapenko and Sofia Kenin.
