Alexandra Eala saved six of nine break points on Wednesday and rallied in the final set to register a 6-0, 3-6, 6-4 victory over Magdalena Frech of Poland to win an Internazionali BNL d’Italia first-round match on a soggy day in Rome.

After rolling through the opening set, the Philippines native encountered trouble throughout the next two sets before dispatching Frech. Eala overcame a 3-1 deficit in the third set to land the victory.

“It was very tough, but I am very proud of myself because there were many moments, especially in the third set, where she could have pulled away, and perhaps the match would have slipped away,” Eala said. “But I am happy with how I resisted and fought.”

Eala faces Xinyu Wang of China in the second round. The No. 31 seed had a first-round bye.

Wednesday’s play included heavy rain that interrupted play. Two matches were suspended and will be completed Thursday.

The tournament also was jarred by withdrawals from Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk and Great Britain’s Emma Raducanu (illness).

Kostyuk won consecutive clay-court titles over the last three weeks at Rouen and Madrid — the latter marking her first 1000-level crown — but pulled out in Rome due to hip and ankle injuries.

“After the best stretch of my career, I was looking forward to Rome,” said Kostyuk, ranked a career-high No. 15. “But sometimes your body has other plans, and over the past few days I’ve been dealing with a hip issue. With my ankle still not fully at 100%, it’s just not smart to keep pushing right now, so I won’t be competing (in Rome) this year.”

Americans Caty McNally, Peyton Stearns and Taylor Townsend won their first-round matches.

McNally was a 6-2, 6-3 winner over Daria Kasatkina of Australia, Stearns defeated Indonesia’s Janice Tjen 6-4, 6-4 and Townsend knocked off Italy’s Nuria Brancaccio 6-3, 6-2.

In other first-round play, Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko sailed to a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Lucrezia Stefanini of Italy. Ostapenko converted all six of her break points to advance to a second-round match against sixth-seeded Amanda Anisimova.

Tatjana Maria cruised to a 6-0, 6-3 win over Poland’s Magda Linette and fellow German Laura Siegemund defeated Sara Bejlek of Czechia 6-4, 6-4. Katerina Siniakova, another Czech, sailed to a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Lois Boisson of France.

Other first-round winners included Argentina’s Solana Sierra, Austria’s Anastasia Potapova, Czechs Karolina Pliskova and Tereza Valentova, France’s Leolia Jeanjean, Germany’s Eva Lys, Greece’s Maria Sakkari, Hungary’s Panna Udvardy, Italy’s Tyra Caterina Grant and Elisabetta Cocciaretto and Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic and Rebeka Masarova.

In the suspended matches, Switzerland’s Simona Waltert leads Ukraine’s Yuliia Starodubtseva 7-5, 4-6, 4-1 and Italy’s Noemi Basiletti holds a 5-3 lead over Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic in the first set.

–Field Level Media

Six games into the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Carolina Hurricanes have yet to taste defeat.

The Hurricanes’ unbeaten tour makes a new stop Thursday when they visit the Philadelphia Flyers for Game 3 of their second-round series.

After sweeping the Ottawa Senators in the first round of the playoffs, Carolina posted a 3-0 victory in Game 1 against Philadelphia. The Hurricanes appeared more vulnerable in Game 2 as they trailed 2-0 early in the first period and were outplayed for most of overtime. However, they prevailed 18:54 into the extra session when Taylor Hall poked home a loose puck

“It’s probably a good sign for us that we have another level and we all know it,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said after the 3-2 triumph. “We find ways, obviously, to get it done.”

Meanwhile, the Flyers are desperate for a victory as they return to home ice — where they went 2-1 during their first-round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

“It’s unfortunate that we weren’t able to come out with this one,” Philadelphia defenseman Jamie Drysdale said after Game 2, in which he opened the scoring. “There’s definitely things we can take and learn. We’ve got a few days here to regroup and come back hard at home.”

Adding another level of difficulty to his team’s comeback hopes, Philadelphia coach Rick Tocchet announced Wednesday that the Flyers will play the rest of the series without center Noah Cates due to a lower-body injury suffered in Game 2.

Cates produced 18 goals, 29 assists and a team-best plus-26 plus-minus rating during the regular season before providing one goal and three assists in eight postseason games.

“He’s a huge part (of our team). He’s Mr. Consistency. He does a lot of things for us, but it’s no different than other teams — next man up,” said Tocchet, who noted that Trevor Zegras and Denver Barkey will see more time at center. “We’re good there. We’ll be OK.”

Philadelphia also could be without Owen Tippett (undisclosed injury) for the third straight game. He’ll be a game-time decision.

On the other hand, Carolina likely will welcome back a key piece to its lineup. Defenseman Alexander Nikishin, who suffered a concussion in Game 4 of the Hurricanes’ first-round series, is eligible to return Thursday.

“He’s been cleared and had a good practice, so he’s definitely an option for tomorrow,” Brind’Amour said Wednesday.

Carolina’s improving defensive depth, combined with Philadelphia’s precarious injury situation, puts even more pressure on Flyers rookies Porter Martone, Alex Bump and Barkey and the team’s other players experiencing their first playoff runs.

“I think from the first game to the second game, you saw improvement,” Tocchet said. “… I think going into Game 3, I think you’ll see more improvement. Our team improved from the first game to the second game. And I think the young guys were in that boat. So, yeah, really excited for those guys to play in this kind of atmosphere.”

The Hurricanes’ veteran-laden team has won 13 of its last 15 games dating back to March 31. Perhaps more relevant, they have won nine of their last 10 contests decided by one goal.

Their poise shined through in Game 2 when they had to overcome the early deficit, withstand the Flyers’ push in overtime and deal with seven power plays for the night.

“As this series goes on, you’re always expecting the best from the other team,” said Carolina center Sebastian Aho, who has yet to register a point in this series. “We’ve got to be ready for the next one.”

–Field Level Media

Estevao is rehabilitating in Brazil using the facilities of his former squad, according to a report Wednesday from The Athletic.

The Chelsea star suffered a hamstring injury during a loss to Manchester United earlier this month. Yet, instead of working on his rehab in London, he’s nursing the injury at Palmeiras, where he scored 18 goals in 62 appearances over three years.

A source revealed to The Athletic that the current arrangement is a short-term situation, with the 19-year-old expected back in London before the Premier League season ends May 24.

The injury nevertheless puts into question Estevao’s availability for a World Cup appearance this summer for his native Brazil. Several outlets have referred to the hamstring injury as “grad four,” which typically has a longer recovery time. As a five-time goal-scorer for his national team, his absence would be noteworthy during the tournament that begins June 11 and concludes July 19.

Estevao has two goals over 22 appearances this season for Chelsea (13-13-9, 48 points), which has three Premier Leagues games left.

–Field Level Media