Vengeful Eala beats Valentova, faces Coatian foe in HK Open quarters

Sports

ALEX Eala finally got one over Tereza Valentova, scoring a 6-4, 7-6 (7) victory in their Round of 16 match in the Hong Kong Tennis Open on Thursday night, Nov. 5.

The hard-earned win sent the 21-year-old Eala to the quarterfinal round where she will meet Croatian Antonia Ruzic, who stunned sixth seed Wang Xinyu of China in their own second-round match, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.

The 23-year-old Ruzic is currently ranked No. 23 in the world. Her career-high is No. 50.

Against Valentova, the second-seeded Eala rallied from a 3-5 deficit in the second set to complete the win in a near two-hour duel.

It was Eala’s first win against Valentova as the Filipina tennis star, currently enjoying a career-high ranking No. 17, lost to the Czech player at the Japan Open last year and the Doha Open last February.

The World No. 85 Valentova put up a tough stand, clawing back from a 1-4 deficit to force a 4-all standoff in the opening set. Eala weathered the storm, winning the next two games to close the opening set.

Valentova appeared ready to force a deciding set when she surged to a huge 5-3 lead in the second set. Eala, however, took the next three games to force a tiebreak.

The two then figured in a tight duel in the tiebreak but Eala did just enough to escape, winning two crucial games after Valentova knotted the score at 5-all.(CCM)