Alex Eala edges towards the top 40 in WTA Rankings as she beats close friend
Alex Eala kicked off her debut campaign at the Abu Dhabi Open with a solid win over her good friend Zeynep Sonmez, and with the win, she earned a two-place rise in the Live Rankings.
Both Eala and Sonmez were big fan favourites at the recent Australian Open with the former drawing a massive Filipino audience on Court 6 for her first-ever main draw match at Melbourne Park while Turkish star Sonmez won the fans over with her incredible act of coming to the aid of a ball girl who fainted.
Eala, though, made a first-round exit as she lost against Alycia Parks while Sonmez became the first-ever Turkish woman to win a match at the hard-court Grand Slam before losing in the third round.
As luck would have it, the two friends were paired in the first round in the United Arab Emirates and it was the Filipina who emerged victorious with a 6-4, 6-3 win and afterwards she paid tribute to the 23-year-old Sonmez.
“I’m so honoured to share the court with one of my closest friends, Zeynep,” Eala said. “I admire her so much and she’s really making waves in many ways, and our friendship goes beyond tennis and I’m so grateful for that.”
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The 20-year-old added: “It’s definitely something you have to get used to. Maybe it’s harder in the juniors, but as a professional you learn to disassociate.
“In the end, we both want the best for each other but we know that when we’re on court, we’re going to do our best, both of us, to do what we can.”
Live WTA Rankings
Eala, who played at the Philippine Women’s Open after the Australian Open and reached the quarter-final, started the Abu Dhabi event at a career-high No 45 and she climbed another two places to No 43 in the Live Rankings on the back of her win.
She will face Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the second round and a win over the lucky loser from Belarus could see her break into the top 40 as she is projected to rise to No 38.
But the 31-year-old Sasnovich, who currently sits at No 109 in the WTA Rankings, will be no pushover as she is a former world No 29.
Sonmez, meanwhile, sits at No 79 in the official rankings after jumping 33 places after her third-round appearance in Melbourne, although she has dropped two spots in the Live Rankings after her defeat to Eala.
