Tennis: Alex Eala battles past Julia Grabher in first round of 2026 Linz Open

Filipina tennis star Alexandra Eala held her nerve through a battling first-round encounter with Austria's Julia Grabher Tuesday (7 April) at the 2026 Linz Open, winning 6-4, 6-3. She will face Jeļena Ostapenko of Latvia in the second round.

"I think I kept the intensity well throughout the match," Eala said on court afterward. "She's a very intense player and has really good shots. So I'm really happy with the win."

The first set stayed on serve throughout, but Eala was made to work for nearly every service game. She faced break points in three of her five holds – surviving seven deuces in game seven alone – while Grabher held with relative ease.

Eala finally found the breakthrough in game 10, earning a set point on Grabher's serve. The Austrian saved it and earned a game point of her own with an ace, but a cross-court forehand from Eala created another chance – and Grabher went wide to hand over the set, 6-4.

Eala broke through in the fourth game of the second set, converting on her second break point for a 3-1 lead.

She held off two break-back attempts from Grabher to extend to 4-1, but Grabher got one back in game seven, breaking Eala to cut the deficit to 4-3.

Eala responded immediately, breaking again in the eighth game to lead 5-3 before serving out the match. A forehand error from Grabher set up double match point, and the Austrian went wide to end it.

On playing in Linz for the first time, Eala had nothing but praise for the host city.

"I think it's amazing. I'm really happy with how they welcomed me and welcome the Filipinos," she said. "I hope to discover your culture more and have some fun on the court."

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