By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Negrense Alexandra Eala opened her campaign at the WTA 500 Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open with a confident straight-sets win over Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez yesterday.

The World’s No. 45 needed just under 90 minutes to dispatch the 79th-ranked Sonmez, 6-4, 6-3, on Center Court, booking a place in the second round of the tournament.

Eala claimed the first set with steady baseline play, then quickly took control in the second by jumping to a 3-0 lead.

Sonmez responded by winning two straight games to narrow the gap, but Eala regained momentum with a timely break to move ahead, 4-2.

Although the Turkish player briefly fought back with a break of her own, Eala remained composed, holding serve and breaking once more to seal the match.

The victory continued Eala’s dominance over Sonmez.

The Filipina also defeated her in their previous meeting at the WTA 250 Eastbourne qualifiers last year.

Sonmez entered the tournament with confidence after a solid showing in the Australian Open qualifiers, where she advanced to the third round.

Meanwhile, Eala recently reached the quarterfinals of the WTA 125 Philippine Women’s Open before bowing out in her home event.

Up next for Eala is a second-round clash with Belarusian veteran Aliaksandra Sasnovich, who caused a major upset in the opening round by eliminating eighth seed Paola Badosa of Spain in three sets.

Before returning to singles action, Eala will also compete in the doubles event later, partnering with Indonesia’s Janice Tjen./ASC, WDJ