World no. 2 Alex Eala entered the Round of 16 of the 2022 US Open girls’ singles at the outdoor hard courts of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City.
The 10th seeded Eala came away with a dominant 6-2, 6-3 triumph over Nina Vargova of Slovakia on Monday (Tuesday morning, Philippine time).
The 17-year-old Eala broke serve twice to take a 3-1 lead in the opening set.
Vargova held serve in the fifth game to narrow the gap to 2-3, but Eala took the next three games to claim the first set.
Eala then pulled away with a 3-0 advantage after Vargova dropped serve twice.
Vargova fought back to break Eala in the fifth and sixth game to force tie at 3-3. After that, Eala moved away again to grab the second-set win, 6-3.
Eighth seed Taylah Preston of Australia will be Eala’s rival in the third round.
Hurdling Preston will give Eala a spot in the quarterfinals and a chance to repeat her US Open juniors performance in 2021.
The opening round of the girls’ doubles is up next for Eala, who teams up with 15-year-old partner Mirra Andreeva of Russia.
They are seeded fourth in the tournament and will meet a duo of 14-year-olds in Iva Jovic and Shannon Lam of the United States.