IMPRESSIVE! Eala posts 2 big wins to advance to Guadalajara Open semis

Sports

ALEX Eala displayed mental and physical toughness when she pulled off two big wins in a span of hours to advance to the semifinal round of the Guadalajara 125 Open early morning Friday (Philippine time), September 5, in Mexico.

The 20-year-old Eala sustained her momentum when she defeated American Varvara Lepchenko, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (3), 6-3, in a rain-delayed match.

The Eala-Lepchenko match was suspended on Thursday due to heavy rain. Eala was ahead in the deciding set, 3-2, when the match was halted. The delay didn’t slow Eala down as she dominated the decider after a tight duel in the first two two sets.

The win over Lepchenko sent Eala to the quarterfinals. The rising Filipino only needed a few hours of rest and returned to the court for her quarterfinal match against Italian Fossa Huergo.

Eala, ranked No. 70 in the world and seeded No. 2 in the tournament, hardly showed signs of fatigue, blasting Fuego in straight sets, 7-6, 6-2, to book a seat in the Final 4.

Moving closer to her first-ever WTA 125 title, Eala will face American Kayla Day in the semifinal round, which will be played at 2:10 a,m, on Saturday (Philippine time), September 5.

The 25-year-old Day currently sits at the 418th spot in the WTA ranking. Her career-high ranking is 84th, way below of Eala’s 56th.

The 5-foot-8 left-handed Day secured her own spot in the semis by dispatching Emiliana Arango, 7-5, 6-2, in the quarters. The Colombian Arango is seeded no. 3 in the tournament.

Day had an easy outing in the Round of 16 where she demolished Ana Sofia Sanchez of Mexico, 6-1, 6-4.

Day started the tournament with a hard-earned 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 win over Mexican Rebecca Marino. Eala, on the other hand, kicked off her campaign with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Arianne Hartono in the Round of 32.(CCM)