Alex Eala is only a hearbeat away from making her first Grand Slam appearance after beating Tamara Zidansek of Slovenia, 1-6, 7-6, 6-3, in the second round of the Wimbledon Championships in the United Kingdom early Thursday (Manila time).

Eala, 19, only needed one hour to dispatch her foe and make it into the main draw.

The Rafael Nadal Academy now needs to beat Lulu Sun of New Zealand in the third round to be the first Filipino female tennis player to reach a Grand Slam.

Eala also has a chance to erase the stinging 4-6, 6-7, 4-6 loss to Julia Reira of Argentina in the thrid round of the French Open quaifiers last May.