MANILA, Philippines -- Filipina tennis star Alex Eala has entered the W50 Trnava quarterfinals in Slovakia after sweeping North Macedonia’s Lina Gjorcheska, 6-4, 6-2.
The two tennisters were kept in a 4-4 deadlock in the first set as they traded games.
Eala then won the pivotal ninth game as she held Gjorcheska to just 15 points.
The Filipina and Macedonian had a grueling 10th game, with Eala eventually getting the upper hand and grabbing the first set.
In the second set, the 18-year-old Eala turned a 2-all tie to a 4-2 lead.
The two fought tooth and nail in the seventh and eighth games, with the Filipina securing the victory and the quarterfinal ticket.
She will be facing Russia’s Anastasiia Gureva in the quarterfinals of the tourney Friday night (Manila time).
Meanwhile, Eala also barged into the semifinals of the tournament’s doubles play, as she and her partner, Zeynep Sonmez of Turkiye, defeated the pair of Romania’s Ilona-Georgiana Ghioroaie and Czechia’s Aneta Kladivova, 5-7, 6-3, 10-5.
They will face Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima and Switzerland’s Lulu Sun also Friday.