Eala-Kichenok duo shocks fourth-seed pair of Appleton-Tang

ALEXANDRA “ALEX” EALA and partner Nadiia Kichenok of Ukraine stunned the fourth-seeded duo of Great Britain’s Emily Appleton and home bet Qianhui Tang, 6-4, 6-2, for a roaring start in the WTA250 Guangzhou Open on Thursday at the Nansha International Tennis Center in China.

- — John Bryan Ulanday

The Filipina-Ukrainian duo staged a 5-0 closeout from 1-2 deficit in the second set to complete a sweep in only 68 minutes of play and advance to the quarterfinals of the short 16-pair field.

While Ms. Kichenok is a double expert at No. 58 in the world, Ms. Eala is way behind at No. 207 compared to the. No. 80 Ms. Appleton and No. 69 Ms. Tang, making it a huge upset to barge into the next round.

This marked Ms. Eala’s sweet return in the doubles play after a first-round loss with Eva Lys of Germany in the Wimbledon last July.