Alex Eala eased out the 99th-ranked Spaniard Nuria Parrizas Diaz from Spain in a 7-5, 7-5 upset win on Thursday in the second-round qualifiers of the 2024 US Open in Flushing Meadows, New York.
Currently ranked at no. 144 in the World Tennis Association, Eala took an hour and 48 minutes to beat her rival.
When it was over, Eala, whose professional ranking is expected to go up by a notch to 143, moved into the third round — a win shy of the main draw.
But she will have to get past Elena Gabriela Ruse, a Romanian netter currently at no. 123 in the WTA rankings.
Eala gained headway when she broke Diaz’s serve for a 6-5 lead in the first set.
In the second set, Eala broke the serve to grab the lead at 6-5, before taking the second in the same fashion, 7-5.
Ruse, a semifinalist in the 2024 French Open, advanced to the third round after getting past Chinese bet Xin Ma, 6-3, 6-3.
