Eala holds firm against Jones to reach Hong Kong second round

Second seed Alexandra Eala held off British lucky loser Emerson Jones in straight sets to advance to the second round of the Prudential Hong Kong Open on Tuesday evening.

Eala made a fast start, racing to a 4-0 lead in the opening set. Jones, who entered the main draw following the withdrawal of American Alycia Parks, fought back to close the gap to 4-3 before Eala held on to take the set 6-4.

The Filipino, ranked a career-high No. 17 in the WTA PIF Rankings this week, made another strong start in the second set, building a 5-1 lead. Jones recovered one of the breaks, but Eala held firm to complete a 6-4, 6-3 victory in one hour, 23 minutes.

Eala will next face Czech teenager Tereza Valentova, who defeated qualifier Himeno Sakatsume 6-3, 7-5 in another first-round match Tuesday.

Top seed Cirstea and No. 5 Gisbon also reach second round

Earlier in the day, top seed Sorana Cirstea rallied from an early break down in the final set to defeat Maria Timofeeva 7-6, 1-6, 7-5 and advance to the second round. Cirstea will next face American Mary Stoiana, who defeated seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams in straight sets on Monday.

Fifth seed Talia Gibson, who reached a career-high ranking of No. 36 this week, overcame a 5-3 deficit in the opening set to defeat Oleksandra Oliynykova 7-6, 6-1. 

However, No. 7 seed Liudmila Samsonova suffered a first-round upset at the hands of Alexandra Shubladze. Making her WTA Tour main-draw debut, Shubladze rallied for a 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 victory to advance to the second round.

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Also advancing were Maya Joint, who won an all-Australian clash against Maddison Inglis 7-5, 6-2, and Zeynep Sonmez, who defeated Dayana Yastremska 6-4, 6-2.