Alex Eala of the Philippines pulled off a 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 comeback win over Arina Gabriela Vasilescu of Romania in the first round of the W25 Madrid tournament, Wednesday in Spain.

Eala, 17, is the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) World No. 419, while 25-year-old Vasilescu is the WTA World No. 605.

At Ciudad de la Raqueta, Vasilescu gained the upper hand, 3-1, after Eala let out a backhand error. Eala, the 2021 W15 Manacor and 2022 W25 Chiang Rai champion, leveled at 3-3 with a break of serve via a backhand cross court winner.

The three-time Southeast Asian Games bronze medalist broke again to catch up at 5-5 with a winning backhand shot. Vasilescu broke back to serve for the set at 6-5, and she saved two break points to take the first set, 7-5.

• READ: Alex Eala caps off SEA Games debut with 3rd bronze medal

Eala quickly regrouped and soared to a 4-0 lead in the second set. She broke once more to serve for the set at 5-1, and her backhand winner sealed the set, 6-1, and forced a decider.

The Filipino teen and Rafa Nadal Academy player continued to be in control of the match, imposing a 5-0 lead in the third set. As she was serving for the match, she faced two break points and gave Vasilescu the break with a forehand drop shot error.

Serving for the match for the second time at 5-2, Eala saved a break point and clinched victory on her second match point, 6-2, after Vasilescu hit a backhand long.

In the second round on Thursday, Eala will face No. 4 seed Xiaodi You of China.

Meanwhile, in the doubles draw, Eala and Alice Robbe of France were ousted in the quarterfinals by Zoe Hives of Australia and Katherine Sebov of Canada, 0-6, 4-6.

• READ: Alex Eala, French partner leap to W25 Madrid doubles QF

A double fault from the Filipino-French duo caused Hives and Sebov to serve for the opening set at 5-0.

Although Eala and Robbe earned a break point in the sixth game courtesy of a double fault, Hives and Sebov fought on to claim the first set, 6-0, after the Filipino and French hit a forehand volley error.

Shortly after, Hives and Sebov raced to a 3-1 lead in the following set, but Eala and Robbe improved to 4-3 after a return of serve error from the Australian and Canadian.

A backhand error from Eala and Robbe awarded the break to Hives and Sebov, who served for the match at 5-4. Hives and Sebov successfully fought off the resistance from Eala and Robbe with a 6-4 win in the second set.

This is the second quarterfinal result of Eala and Robbe in 2022, following their stint at the W25 Macon tilt in France in February.

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