Eala begins French Open journey

Filipino netter Alex Eala is locked and loaded as she tries to impress in her French Open women’s singles debut against Colombian Emiliana Arango today at the Roland Garros Stadium in Paris.

The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) No. 69-ranked Eala marches into battle at 5 p.m. (Manila) for her first-ever Grand Slam since becoming a professional five years ago.

For a change, the 20-year-old Rafael Nadal Academy product will come into the match as the fancied side against lower-ranked No. 88 Arango.

Eala, who joined men’s players Felicismo Ampon, Raymundo Deyro, and Cecil Mamiit as the only Filipinos to step onto the French Open stage, earned an outright entry in Roland Garros after reaching the semifinal of the Miami Open last March.

The 5-foot-9 lefty got her break after falling short in the French Open qualifier last year. She made it as far as the third qualifying round but lost to Julia Riera of Argentina, 6-4, 6-7, 4-6.

A win over the 24-year-old Arango could set Eala on a collision course against Paris Olympics gold medalist Zheng Qinwen of China in the second round.

Qinwen takes on Anastasia Pavlyuchenco of Russia in the opening round.

Eala got off on the right track this season after finding success in the Miami Open. She shocked the field with victories over Grand Slam champions Madison Keys, Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia and Iga Swiatek as a wild card.

However, Eala’s campaign ended with a heartbreaking loss to Jessica Pegula, 6-7, 7-5, 3-6, in the semis. But her Miami Open run catapulted her into the Top 100 of the WTA rankings to punch a French Open ticket.

Eala is looking to bounce back from an early exit in the Italian Open after a 0-6, 1-6 loss to Marta Kaostyuk of Ukraine in the Round of 128.

She then teamed up with Coco Gauff in the women’s doubles and reached the quarterfinal. The tandem dropped a 5-7, 6-3 (7-10) decision against defending champion and home bets Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in the Last 8