By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Negrense Alex Eala opened her Birmingham Open singles campaign in emphatic fashion, overpowering Australia’s Priscilla Hon, 6-0, 6-2, to advance to the second round on Tuesday night, June 2 (Philippine time).

The tournament’s top seed was in complete control from the start, racing through the opening set without conceding a game and extending her dominance by taking the first five games of the second set.

Eala, currently No. 27 in the WTA singles, won 11 consecutive games before Hon managed to get on the scoreboard and briefly halt the rout.

Hon claimed two straight games to trim the deficit to 5-2 in the second set, but Eala quickly closed out the match in the next game to complete the victory in just 59 minutes.

The 21-year-old Filipina, dominated both on serve and return.

She collected 27 receiving points compared to Hon’s 10 and also held a 26-17 advantage in service points against the World’s No. 143 Australian.

“I think it was a good match, a good performance … and I’m happy, of course, especially [since] this is my first match on grass [this season],” the Filipina said in a post-game interview.

“Maraming salamat mga kababayan. I didn’t expect many Filipinos to be here. Significantly more than last year, and magkita tayo bukas,” she added.

The victory allowed Eala to bounce back from an earlier setback in the doubles competition, where she and Czech partner Nikola Bartunkova were eliminated by British pair Harriet Dart and Maia Lumsden.

Eala will next take on either Belgium’s Greet Minnen, ranked No. 164 in the world, or Russia’s Alina Charaeva, who is currently No. 130./ASC, WDJ