Eala overcomes Canadian foe to reach Rancho Santa Fe Open quarterfinals

MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala continues to sizzle in her first-ever W80 tournament as she reached the quarterfinals of the Rancho Santa Fe Open on Thursday in California (early Friday morning, Manila time).

Eala, who got in the main draw through the qualifiers, bested Canada's Katherine Sebov, 7-6(6), 6-2, in a match that lasted more than two hours to get into the next round.

The 17-year-old staged a comeback in the opening set after going down 4-5, as her serve was broken by Sebov in Game 9.

But Eala broke the Canadian's serve right back to stay alive, 5-all.

It was the same story in the next two games as each player broke the other's serve respectively to force the tiebreak in the opening salvo.

Eala had her back on the wall when Sebov reached set point early, 6-4, in the tiebreak. But the Filipina tennister scored four straight points to pull the rug from under the Canadian.

The US Open Girls' Singles champion once again dug deep in the second set to claim the sweep victory after Sebov won the first two games, 2-0.

But Eala blanked Sebov from then on, sparked by winning a break point in Game 3 to get within a game, 1-2.

The 17-year-old fended off the Canadian's challenge in less than an hour in the second set to continue her momentum in Santa Fe.

Eala faces Marcela Zacarias of Mexico next in the quarterfinals on Friday (early Saturday morning in Manila).

Eala has two singles titles in her pro career and is seeking to claim her third in just her first-ever W80 tournament.