FILE– Alexandra Eala of the Philippines. Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images/AFP
Alex Eala’s round-of-16 match against Varvara Lepchenko at the Guadalajara Open was suspended early Thursday (Manila time) because of rain.
Eala was in the middle of a comeback bid against the 39-year-old Lepchenko, leading 3-2 in the deciding set when play was halted after more than two hours on court. The match is set to resume Friday.
READ: Alex Eala’s next test after breakthrough US Open run
Eala dropped the first set after squandering an early lead. She forced a tiebreak but Lepchenko, the American qualifier ranked World No. 122, managed to hang on to take the set lead.
The Filipino tennis ace needed to grind through another tiebreak in the second set, but this time made sure to extend the match.
The winner between Eala and Lepchenko advances to the quarterfinal against Nicole Fossa Huergo of Italy.
This is Eala’s first tournament since her second-round exit in the US Open 2025 last week. She opened the Mexico tournament with an easy win over Arianne Hartono of the Netherlands.
After the Guadalajara Open, Eala is also set to see action in the Sao Paulo Open from September 8 to 14 in Brazil.
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