Eala advances in Dubai Tennis Championships as Baptiste retires

MANILA, Philippines -- It may not be how she wanted it to be, but Alex Eala is heading to the next round of the Dubai Tennis Championships after her opponent, Hailey Baptiste, retired in their first-round matchup early Monday morning (Manila time).

Baptiste, who took the first game of the second set, had to bow out of their clash and hand Eala the victory.

As she waved the white flag, the American, ranked 39th in the world, was heard telling Eala that her abdomen was “messed up”.

The Filipina tennister then grabbed the win via walkover, 6-4, 0-1.

Eala will now face World No. 8 Jasmine Paolini in the Round of 32.

Against Baptiste, the Filipina took the first set, as she broke a 3-all deadlock, winning three of the next four games.

Baptiste then kicked off the second set with a win, but a few moments later, she had to beg off, giving Eala the victory in 57 minutes.

Paolini, the sixth-seeded tennis player in the tourney, had the bye in the first round. Whoever wins in their round-of-32 matchup will take on the winner between Linda Noskova and either Sorana Cirstea or Aliaksandra Sasnovich.

The schedule of the Eala-Paolini clash is still yet to be determined.

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