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Miko Eala of the Philippines. Photo courtesy of the Vietnam Tennis Federation.
MANILA - Qualifier Michael Francis “Miko” Eala of the Philippines marked his debut on the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Men’s World Tennis Tour with an opening round finish in the M15 Tay Ninh tilt in Vietnam.
The 19-year-old Pennsylvania State University sophomore player is the brother of two-time ITF women’s singles champion Alex Eala, 17.
On Wednesday at the Hai Dang Tennis Club hard court in Tay Ninh City, Eala lost to 26-year-old and No. 4 seed Ryota Tanuma of Japan, 4-6, 0-6.
Tanuma was the first to break serve to lead at 2-1, and Eala responded with a break to level at 2-2.
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The ATP World No. 639 Japanese broke once more to be at 3-2, and both players held serve until Tanuma sealed the first set, 6-4, on his second set point.
Tanuma went on to dominate the match by clinching the second set in 26 minutes, 6-0, with a love service hold.
On his way to the main draw, Eala notched two wins in the qualifying draw as a wildcard.
He scored an upset over No. 1 seed Dhakshineswar Suresh of India in the first round, 6-3, 4-6, 10-6, then overpowered Minh Tuan Dinh Viet of Vietnam in the second round, 6-0, 6-1.
Eala has been playing for Penn State in the United States NCAA Division 1, following his 2020 graduation from the Rafa Nadal Academy, where his sister is currently training and studying.
According to the Penn State University Athletics, “Eala’s first season with the Nittany Lions was a productive one.”
He concluded the 2020-2021 season at 12-5, the best overall record on his team that included a five-match winning streak.
As a junior, he bagged two singles titles at the 2018 CPSP International Juniors Tennis Championship in the Philippines and 2019 J3 Nicosia in Cyprus.
He also won three doubles titles at the 2017 Phinma-PSC International Juniors 1 with countryman Arthur Craig Pantino, 2019 J4 Lanarca in Cyprus with Matthew Bosancic of Australia, and 2020 J3 Lousada in Portugal with Daniel Rincon of Spain.
Eala achieved a career-high ITF juniors ranking of No. 107 in January 2020.
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