Eala stuns Bronzetti, reaches Last 16

MANILA, Philippines — Filipina ace Alex Eala dominated Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti, 6-0, 6-1, to blitz to the second round of the Lexus Eastbourne Open yesterday in England.

A day after a hard-earned three-set win over American Hailey Baptiste in the qualifying rounds, Eala turned in a high-level performance in quickly disposing of the Italian world No. 61.

The 74th-ranked Philippine pride showcased her excellent first serve and return to get the job done in just one hour and one minute.

Eala will next face either No. 49 Sonay Kartal of Great Britain or third seed Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia in the Round of 16 of the WTA 250 pre-Wimbledon grass tournament.

Meanwhile, Carlos Alcaraz showed he will be the man to beat at Wimbledon again after defeating Jiri Lehecka in the final at Queen’s Club.

The top-seeded Spaniard replicated his debut triumph on the grass courts of west London in 2023 with a 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-2 victory.

It was an 18th-straight match win for Alcaraz – in his fifth consecutive final – following his title successes in Rome and at the French Open.

Kazakh Alexander Bublik achieved his first win in seven meetings with Russian Daniil Medvedev to claim his second title on the grass of Halle.

Bublik, ranked 45, claimed the scalp of world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the second round.

The 28-year-old maintained his streak with a 6-3, 7-6 (7/4), victory in one hour and 22 minutes in his first clash on grass with third seed Medvedev.

Former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova put months of injuries behind her to beat Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu 7-6 (10), 4-6, 6-2 and win the Berlin Open.

For the 25-year-old Vondrousova, who had dropped to 164 in the rankings after undergoing surgery on her left shoulder, it’s her first title in her first final since winning Wimbledon in 2023.