ALEX Eala is through the semifinals of the W60 Vitoria-Gasteiz in Spain after dominating Great Britain's Eden Silva, 6-1, 6-1, in the quarterfinals on Saturday morning (Manila time).
The 17-year-old started strong with an easy 5-0 to dominate the first set. Silva only managed to score her first and only point at the sixth game. Stuck on deuce at Eala's matchpoint, the 26-year-old opponent committed two errors to get Eala up to 6-1.
The second set opened at 1-1, but Eala's momentum proved too strong to break as she took consecutive games to cap off the final set.
Eala is currently ranked WTA no. 317, while Silva is at no. 352. Eala continues the search for her third pro title after the W15 Manacor in 2021, and the W25 Chiang Rai last April.
Alex Eala continues her pro quest
This is only her second time to reach the semifinals of a $60,000 tournament. The last time was last June, when she lost the title match to Marina Bassols-Ribera and settled for a runner-up finish.
The Filipina ace moves to the semifinals, facing Jassika Ponchet of France, to whom she lost in the second round of W25 Palma del Rio, 2-6, 1-6, a month ago.
Ponchet and Eala will face off for a ticket to the finals on Saturday night, Manila time.
Earlier this week, the Rafa Nadal Academy scholar stunned Ya-Hsuan Lee, 1-6, 6-4, 4-1, in the second round, and crushed Berta Gutierrez Saiz 6-1, 6-2, in the opener.
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