Eala books quarters berth in W75 Porto tilt

MANILA, Philippines -- Filipino tennis ace Alex Eala is going to the quarterfinals of the W75 Porto singles in Portugal after making quick work of eight-seeded Katarina Zavatska of Ukraine, 6-0, 6-3.

Eala started the match red-hot, asserting her mastery over the world’s No. 171 tennister.

In the second set, Zavatska grabbed the lead, 2-1, after a grueling third game.

Eala then retook the advantage, 3-2, after winning Games 4 and 5.

After the Ukrainian star tied the set anew, Eala blanked her the rest of the way to take the victory.

With the win, the 18-year-old Filipina barged into the quarterfinals.

She will face Hungary’s Anna Bondar, who is seeded second in the tourney.

This will be an uphill battle for the teenager, as the 26-year-old Bondar is ranked 120th in the world.

They will play each other Friday evening, Manila time.

Eala’s entry into the quarterfinals of singles play came before she crashed out of doubles’ action.

She and her partner, Britain’s Ali Collins, got the boot against the pair of Britain’s Alicia Barnett and Germany’s Anna-Lena Friedsam, 6-3, 6-4.

After Eala and Collins tied the second set up at 4, they simply ran out of gas against the mighty Barnett-Friedsam duo, 6-4.