Alex Eala rallies past Magdalena Fręch in gritty clay-court battle in the Italian Open

Alex Eala produced a strong comeback to defeat Magdalena Fręch in the opening round of the Italian Open on Wednesday.

Eala won 6-0, 3-6, 6-4 in a match that saw big swings before the Filipino player regained control in the final set.

She started confidently, dominating the opening set with aggressive and consistent serving. Eala broke early and repeatedly, taking the set without dropping a game.

Fręch responded in the second set, stepping up her return game and applying pressure buy the Polish player got an early break and maintained her advantage to level the match.

In the deciding set, Fręch again moved ahead, building a 3-1 lead. However, Eala extended rallies and forced errors. She broke back in the sixth game and won three consecutive games to take a 4-3 lead.

Eala sealed the victory with another break late in the set, completing the comeback.

The win sends her into the round of 64, where she will face Wang Xinyu in what is expected to be a competitive second-round match in Rome.