Momentum was on Oleksandra Oliynykova’s side when she pulled off a 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 victory over Alex Eala in the Round of 32 of the Strasbourg Open women’s singles event in France late Monday (Manila time).
The world No. 66 from Ukraine admitted that she banked on the momentum she gained from the qualifiers in beating the 20-year-old Filipina and advancing to the second round of the event that serves as a warmup for the French Open.
The 25-year-old Oliynykova overcame home bet Ksenia Efremova, 6-1, 6-2, and Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan, 6-4, 6-4, in the qualifiers to set the stage for a massive upset of Eala.
“It was an absolutely amazing match. At one moment in the third set, when it was 3-all and it was very close — a fight for every point — I just told myself that I could relax because tennis had already won, and I could be proud of this match,” Oliynykova said.
“Maybe that was something that helped me play more freely in the end and win those last three games in a row.”
With Eala out, she will now focus on her recovery before competing in the French Open on 24 May.
So far, Eala’s best clay-court performance this year came at the Italian Open in Rome last week, where she reached the Round of 32 before bowing to world No. 2 Elena Rybakina.
Eala will need every advantage she can get as she is expected to face the likes of world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, Rybakina, and world No. 4 and defending champion Coco Gauff in the prestigious Grand Slam event.
In a podcast, former world No. 9 Andrea Petkovic said Eala still needs to improve the consistency of her serves if she wants to win more matches on the Women’s Tennis Association Tour.
“I think it’s one thing and unfortunately it’s a big thing: the serve. In the year and a half that I have watched her now, her serve is very inconsistent. She has those weeks where she can’t make first serves and the second serves are very attackable,” Petkovic said.