Eala overpowers Polish foe, moves to ASB Classic semis

Sports

FILIPINA tennis star Alex Eala delivered another overpowering performance on Friday, Jan. 9, to stay in strong title contention in the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand.

Eala, seeded fourth in the tournament, punched a semifinal ticket by pulling off a 6-3, 6-3 win over Magda Linette, the Polish player who made it to the semifinals in of the 2023 Australian Open.

Eala’s convincing win was a stirring follow-up of her dominant quarterfinal win over Croatian Petra Marcinko, 6-0, 6-2, last Thursday. Those two one-sided wins came after Eala started her singles campaign with a tight 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Croatia’s Donna Vekic.

Eala broke free from a tight contest early, turning a 2-2 tie into a commanding 4-2 lead in the opening set. The Filipina then won two of the next three games to close out the first set.

The world No. 53 Eala then went full throttle in the second set, racing to a 4-0 lead en route to sealing the victory in one hour and 37 minutes.

It was actually a revenge of sorts for Eala as she lost to Linette in their two previous encounters.

A Chinese player awaits Eala in the Final 4 round where she will take on Wang Xinyu.

Xinyu, ranked No. 57 in the world, clinched her own semis seat after Francesca Jones retired from their quartefinal match while she was ahead, 6-4, 4-3.(CCM)