Alex Eala earned a measure of revenge against Wang Xinyu after pulling off a composed 6-4, 6-3 victory in the Italian Open Round of 64 on Friday evening.

The win marked Eala's first back-to-back victories on clay this season and leveled her head-to-head matchup against Wang, who previously edged the Filipina in a three-set semifinal battle at the ASB Classic earlier this year.

Much like her opening-round win, Eala once again had to battle from an early deficit. Wang stormed ahead 3-0 in the first set after breaking Eala twice in the opening and third games, putting the Filipina under immediate pressure.

But Eala quickly settled into the baseline exchanges and responded with four consecutive games, highlighted by breaks of serve in the fourth and sixth games to completely flip the momentum.

With the rallies increasingly favoring Eala, she continued to dictate play from the backcourt and secured another crucial break in the 10th game to close out the opening set.

Wang's struggles on serve proved costly, as the Chinese standout committed four double faults in the set. Although Wang held the edge in first-serve percentage at 70% compared to Eala's 64%, the Filipina made the bigger impact on return, winning 52% of points off the 31st seed's first serve against Wang's 38% on Eala's first-serve returns.

The second set opened on even footing, with both players comfortably holding serve through the first four games. Wang then appeared to regain control in the fifth game, breaking Eala for a 3-2 advantage and briefly swinging the momentum back in her favor.

That, however, would be the last stretch of comfort Wang enjoyed. The 20-year old elevated her level once more with an aggressive and composed display from the baseline, reeling off four consecutive games to seize command of the match. The Filipina answered immediately with a break back in the sixth game before striking again in the eighth to move within a game of victory.

Eala was tested one final time while serving for the match in the ninth game, as Wang forced extended rallies and pushed the Filipina deep into pressure points. But Eala stood firm, showing poise in the biggest moments to complete the straight-sets triumph.

Her efficiency behind the second serve proved decisive throughout the contest, with Eala winning 48% of her second-serve points compared to Wang's 35%.

Awaiting Eala in the Round of 32 of the Italian Open is a potential showdown against either world number two Elena Rybakina or Greece's Maria Sakkari.

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