Alex Eala quarterfinal spot booked
Alex Eala quarterfinal progress was sealed with a 6-4, 7-6 (9-7) win over Tereza Valentova at the WTA250 Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open on Thursday. The world No. 17 needed almost two hours on the centre court of a packed Victoria Park Tennis Stadium to beat the Czech world No. 85 for the first time in three meetings.
Valentova, 19, had won both previous encounters in straight sets, at the Japan Open last year and at the Qatar Open this season. This time Eala held the decisive points, closing the match with a break and a winner.
Second-set tiebreak against Valentova
Eala looked set for a comfortable finish when she moved 5-0 ahead in the second-set tiebreak, but she surrendered that cushion before steadying herself. The recovery, rather than the margin, defined the result: she had to win the match twice.
Filipino supporters waved flags throughout the stadium, and Eala credited the level of the contest afterwards. "Fight! Just keep fighting. It was a fight. It was really tough," she said. "Tereza played incredibly well and we're able to bring the match to a high level as reflected in the scores. I just escaped by a little bit."
Antonia Ruzic next for Eala
Eala meets No. 81 Antonia Ruzic of Croatia for a place in the semifinals. Ruzic upset No. 6 seed and world No. 38 Xinyu Wang of China 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 to reach this stage.
Eala's record against Czech players
Before Thursday, Eala had been 0-13 against Czech opponents, a run that included the two earlier defeats to Valentova. The Hong Kong win removes that specific obstacle ahead of a quarterfinal against a Croatian player instead.
The original report was published by philstar.com.
