Alex Eala survives scare from Guth to punch ticket to the French Open third round

Highly touted sensation Alex Eala continued to fly the flag in the Girls' Singles of the 2020 French Open, after surviving a marathon with Germany's Mara Guth to win 6-1, 5-7, 6-4 Monday in Paris (Tuesday morning, Manila time)

Fresh from her debut, straight-sets victory over Hungarian Natalia Szabanin, the second-seeded Eala faced Guth for the second time in her career, the first in a Grand Slam event and was tested in a two-hour, twelve minute ordeal at Court 12 in Roland Garros, punching her ticket to the third round where Leyre Romero Gormaz awaits.

The 53rd-ranked Spaniard overcame Russia's Diana Shnaider in straight sets in her second round encounter 6-3, 7-5.

The scholar the of the Rafa Nadal Academy only took 353 minutes to take the opening set, breaking the more veteran Guth four times in the process as she raced to a 3-0 lead.

However, the German ,who ranked 57th in the ITF Juniors' rankings, fought back in the second to force a decider, which took 58 minutes and all but three of the games went against the serve, including a crucial break by Guth in the 11th.

But Eala will not be denied in the 39-minute third set, where she found herself behind 3-4 after trading serves before winning the last three games, two of which have gone against the serve as she took the match by winning more than 50% in each of the break and receiving points in the process.

PHOTO: ©Loïc Wacziak / French Tennis Federation