ALEX Eala stayed hot, cruising to a dominant win over France’s Yasmine Mansouri, 6-0, 6-2, in the São Paulo Open early Wednesday morning (Philippine time), September 10, in Brazil.

The one-sided win sent the 20-year-old Eala to the Round of 16 where she will face Argentina’s Julia Riera, who sealed her own trip to the next phase via a 6-3, 7-6(1) victory over Russian Vitalia Diatchenko.

It will be the third meeting between Eala and Riera as they played against each other twice in 2024.

Riera, currently ranked No. 188 in the world, prevailed in their first meeting at the French Open qualifiers, 4-6, 7-6, 6-4, before Eala got back in their recent encounter at the 2024 Cary Tennis Classic, 6-3, 6-1.

Now ranked No. 61st in the world, Eala is on a tear as she is coming off a championship run in the Guadalajara Open for her first-ever Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) singles title. She is the first Filipino to win a WTA title.

Although lower-ranked, the 23-year-old Riera is no pushover having won seven ITF singles titles and four doubles titles. She has also competed in the main draw of three of the four Grand Slams, excluding the US Open.(CCM)

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• #Alex Eala
• #São Paulo Open 2025
• #Yasmine Mansouri
• #Julia Riera
• #Round of 16
• #WTA singles
• #ITF titles
• #Philippine tennis
• #Guadalajara Open champion
• #WTA title first for Philippines
• #tennis rankings
• #women’s tennis