Philippines tennis sensation Alex Eala showed considerable improvement in her game as she advanced to the Round of 16 with straight-set victories.
Eala had to fight hard in her opening round against Germany's Laura Siegemund.
Eala bounced back from losing the opening set to beat Siegemund 6-7, 6-3, 6-3 in Thursday's match which lasted three hours and 20 minutes.
Then in her Round of 32 clash on Saturday evening, Eala defeated Polish player Magda Linette.
The Filipina star won the opening set comfortably but faced a tiebreak in the second set. However, she kept her cool to win 6-3, 7-6 (2).
“I think I just told myself to be brave, do whatever I could,” Eala said. “I can't control how she was playing. She I think upped her game in the second, so … I tried to go for my shots, and they were effective luckily.”
Linette would have fancied her chances having defeated Polish compatriot and World No2 Iga Swiatek in the previous round. But Eala's two breaks of serve and 20 winners proved enough.
Eala has now won both matchups against Linette this season. Eala next faces Karolina Muchova for a spot in the quarter-finals.
“I'm really excited. I haven't thought about it much,” Eala added. “She's obviously a great player and is doing really well. A couple years back, I watched one of her finals. I was really impressed. To be put in a position to compete against her is a real privilege and going to be a test.”
Meanwhile, Coco Gauff rallied from dropping the first set to beat fellow American Alycia Parks 3-6, 6-0, 6-1 to advance into the Round of 16.
It was the second straight day that the fourth-seeded Gauff dropped the first set but came back to win. She saved 14 of 16 breakpoint chances she faced, including all 10 over the final two sets.
“It was really difficult,” Gauff said after her win. “She was playing really well and she's one of those people who's hit or miss sometimes. So, you're stuck in the fine line of being aggressive but also maybe just making her play.
“The second and third (sets), I just tried to be aggressive when I could. I made some adjustments on the return and I think that made a difference.”
