Eala turns back Vekic in Berlin

MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala got the better of Croatian veteran Donna Vekic once more, essaying a 7-5, 6-4 win to kick off her WTA500 Berlin Tennis Open campaign in style yesterday at the Rot-Weiss Tennis Club in Germany.

Eala encountered heavy resistance from Vekic in both sets but still emerged on top in 110 minutes of play to earn another shot at world No. 2 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, who gained a first-round bye as the second seed in the stacked cast led by world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.

The 21-year-old Filipina bowed to Rybakina in the third round of the Italian Open last month as part of her roller-coaster clay campaign before slowly but surely regaining her fiery form on grass courts leading up to Wimbledon on June 29 to July 12 in London.

And save for a second-round exit in the HSBC Championships (Queens’ Club), Eala has been on a roll in a bid to follow up her Lexus Birmingham Open title earlier this month.