Eala, partner barge into semifinal in W25 Palma del Rio

MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala and Marina Bassols Ribera are through to the semifinals of the W25 Palma del Rio after dumping their opponents in the quarterfinal on Wednesday.

Eala and Bassols Ribera, who are the runner-up and champion of W60 Madrid, respectively, thrashed Spain's Marta Huqi Gonzales Encinas and Ashley Lahey, 6-1, 6-3.

Seeded fourth in the tournament, Eala and Bassols Ribera needed only an hour to fend off their opponents.

In the opening set, Gonzales and Lahey won only the first game before the 17-year-old and her partner bulldozed their way to six straight game wins to claim the opener, 6-1.

Buoyed by their momentum, Eala and Bassols Ribera zoomed to an early 4-0 lead.

While Gonzales and Lahey recovered to cut the deficit to two games, 3-5, Eala and Bassols Ribera held their serve in a crucial eighth game to close out their opponents.

They thus forged a battle with top-seed Valeria Savinykh and Fanny Stollar in the semifinal on Thursday.

Eala also plays in women's singles as she clashes with second-seed Jessika Ponchet in the Round of 16.

The 17-year-old tennister is coming off a deep run in Madrid where she finished as a runner-up.

Eala is looking for her third ITF singles crown and her first in women's singles.