Eala extends grass-court surge with breezy win in Queen’s Club opener

Alex Eala has yet to be tested in the grass.

Fresh off her Birmingham Open title run, Eala sustained her stellar form and showcased flashes of brilliance after sweeping China’s Zhang Shuai, 6–3, 6–2, in the round of 32 of the Queen’s Club Championships in the United Kingdom on June 9.

Now armed with two WTA trophies following her championship run at the Birmingham Open just three days earlier, the Filipina proved she had not lost her footing, wrapping up the match in just one hour and 11 minutes.

Despite falling into an early 0–2 hole after Shuai consolidated a break, Eala quickly regrouped, breaking the Chinese veteran’s serve twice while claiming six of the next seven games to seize control of the opening set.

Fresh off a rise to a career-high world No. 33 ranking, the Filipina tennis ace opened the second frame with a love hold before cruising to victory behind three service breaks and relentless baseline pressure.

Living up to a resume highlighted by four WTA titles, the 37-year-old Zhang still posed a challenge, preventing a runaway victory as she registered two break points and two aces.

Eala, however, proved too sharp for the veteran, relying on her aggressive court coverage and consistency to tally an impressive 72 percent (28-of-39) success rate on first-serve points won, compared to Zhang’s 50 percent (21-of-42).

With the victory, Eala advanced to the Round of 16, where she will get a chance to avenge her French Open exit against Iva Jovic in their upcoming HSBC Championships round of 16 showdown.