Alex Eala outlasts French foe to open Wimbledon qualifiers

Alex Eala needed two grueling sets to hurdle Jessika Ponchet of France, 7-6(1), 6-4, and kick off her campaign at the opening round of the Wimbledon qualifying round in style on Tuesday night.

Eyeing her first-ever Grand Slam main draw appearance, the 19-year-old tennis ace will now need to surpass two more opponents. 

She will take on no. 14 seed Tamara Zidansek of Slovenia in the second round later tonight, with the winner taking on either Gabriela Knutson of Czech Republic or Lulu Sun of New Zealand for a spot at the main draw. 

Eala struggled to sustain her fine start in Set 1, building a sizable 4-1 lead to move two wins away from drawing first blood against the 27-year-old Ponchet, who would win four of the next five games to force a 5-all deadlock. 

Eala then clinched the set point with a forehand winner, 6-5, before Ponchet once again tied things up in the following game. She, however, committed a costly error that allowed the Philippine ace to take the set. 

Eala made sure the same won't happen in Set 2 with the error-plagued Ponhcet surrendering a 5-4 lead after a forehand infraction as the Filipina bet sealed the victory with another forehand winner. 

—Bea Micaller/JKC, GMA Integrated News