Alex Eala ground out a gutsy 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 win over Katarzyna Kawa of Poland in their rain-interrupted Round 1 duel in the WTA125 Suzhou Open yesterday at the Sungent International Tennis Center in China.
The fourth-seeded Eala kept her patience, cool and composure amidst the interruptions and outfought Kawa in their back-and-forth match that lasted two hours and 27 minutes.
It was payback time for Eala, who bowed to Kawa at the W60 Templeton event in California three years ago.
Eala, WTA No. 58, will face No. 106 Greet Minnen of Belgium in the Round of 16 for a shot at her fourth straight quarterfinals appearance.
With Eala and Kawa, WTA No. 124, locked at 2 in the first frame, officials suspended the match for a few hours before resuming in the afternoon.
Eala went on to win four of the last five games to take the first set before the match was halted anew momentarily down the stretch of the second with Kawa holding a 5-3 lead en route to a 6-3 win.
It became an explosive battle with Eala and Kawa taking turns in breaking at 3-3, 4-4 and 5-5 in the extended decider. Eala finally snapped the exchange with a 2-0 closeout.