Eala sails into Madrid Open 2nd round

Filipina star Alexandra Eala enjoyed a strong start to her Madrid Open campaign on Wednesday, moving past Russian qualifier Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-3, 6-3 to reach the second round at the event for the third straight year.

The 44th-ranked lefty needed one hour and 31 minutes to dismiss Pavlyuchenkova, who was a semi-finalist in the Spanish capital in 2021.

The 34-year-old Pavlyuchenkova, a former French Open runner-up currently ranked 116 in the world, is 0-6 in tour-level main draw matches so far this season.

Eala saved all four break points she faced and broke Pavlyuchenkova twice in a tightly-contested 54-minute opening set.

The 20-year-old phenom briefly lost her advantage in the second set but swept eight points in a row to regain her lead and book a clash with 19th seed Elise Mertens.

"I feel really great. I love Madrid, it's an amazing tournament," said Eala, who has been training at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca for almost eight years.

"Every time I come here, I feel very comfortable, I feel like I'm at home."
Pavlyuchenkova, who was playing with a heavily-strapped right upper thigh, committed close to 40 unforced errors in what was her first meeting with Eala.

"Every match at this level is a battle, all of us players we fight until the end and she's been on the tour for many years. So I'm really happy with this win. She's a great player and I'm really happy to be in the next round," Eala added.
In ATP action at the Caja Magica, Spanish teen sensation Rafael Jodar had to dig deep to overcome Jesper de Jong of the Netherlands 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 and notch his first-ever Masters 1000 victory on clay.

After battling for two hours and 31 minutes, Jodar looked at Jude Bellingham, who was watching on from the stands, and lifted his arms in the air, mimicking the Real Madrid star's famous celebration to commemorate a gruelling victory.
The 19-year-old from Madrid wrote "Hey Jude" on the camera lens on court, as an ode to the English footballer, who was enthusiastically supporting him throughout the contest and met up with him in the stadium tunnels after the win.