Alex Eala has reached the quarterfinals in each of her last two tournaments in Guadalajara and São Paulo. Can the Filipina tennis ace make it three straight — this time at the Jingshan Open in Beijing?
Alex Eala is making a habit of going deep in tournaments — and she isn’t slowing down in China.
The 20-year-old Filipina tennis ace faces Japan’s Mei Yamaguchi in the Jingshan Open Round of 16 on Thursday, September 25 (PH time), with another quarterfinal berth on the line.
Match time is set for 2:30 p.m.
Eala has put together back-to-back quarterfinal runs, first at the WTA 250 São Paulo Open in Brazil and then at the WTA 125 Guadalajara Open in Mexico, where she captured her first-ever WTA Challenger crown.
Another victory in Jingshan would set her up for a semifinal clash against either China’s Jia-Jing Lu (no. 349) or India’s Riya Bathia (no. 499).
Eala opened her Jingshan campaign with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Belarus’ Aliona Falei in the first round, refusing to fold despite getting her serve broken four times in the second set before closing out the match in under two hours.
[ALSO READ: Alex Eala fends off Belarusian foe Falei to march on in Jingshan Open]
Yamaguchi, a two-time ITF titlist, also advanced convincingly with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Hong Kong’s Hong Yi Cody Wong.
[ALSO READ: Japanese foe stands in the way of Alex Eala, Jingshan Open quarterfinals]
Thursday marks her first career WTA showdown against Eala.
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Pao Ambat earned his journalism degree from Cavite State University in 2022.
Passionate about sports from a young age, he primarily covers the NBA for One Sports, while also assisting in reporting on the PVL, PBA, UAAP, and other leagues.