MANILA, Philippines — Filipino tennis ace Alex Eala outlasted Japanese Sara Saito, 6-1, 6-7 (1), 7-5, to start her campaign at the Singapore Tennis Open qualifiers on Saturday.The 19-year-old Eala dominated the 18-year-old Saito in the first set but faltered in a tightly-contested second frame that needed a tiebreaker.Ranked 136th in the world, Eala stayed firm in another nip-and-tuck battle in the third set to fend off the 161st Saito.Ultimately, Eala's service and breaking game worked wonders for her.Eala scored eight break points compared to Saito's four and won 11 service games to the latter's eight.The Filipino totaled 71 service points won against Saito's 47.
