IT takes two to tango and on Wednesday night, Alex Eala found her rhythm as she danced her way to the quarterfinals of the Philippine Women’s Open at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Stadium.
Riding her second straight win on home soil, the WTA No. 49 and the tournament’s second seed dispatched Japan’s Himeno Sakatsume (No. 140), 6-4, 6-0, in a match that lasted one hour and 22 minutes to secure a spot in the last eight.
READ: Top seed Tatjana Maria sent packing in Philippine Women's Open
After a measured start, Eala finally broke free from a 4-4 deadlock in the eighth game of the opening set, a shift that firmly swung the match in her favor.
From that moment on, she was in full control.
With momentum on her side, the 20-year-old turned clinical in the second set, rolling through Sakatsume with near-perfect execution to close out the match in convincing fashion.
The win also evened Eala’s head-to-head record against the Japanese, avenging her loss in Osaka in 2023 and giving this tango a different ending on home soil.
Now the highest-ranked player left in the draw following top seed Tatjana Maria’s round-of-16 exit, Eala will face Colombia’s Camila Osorio, WTA No. 84, with a semifinal berth at stake.
After the match, Eala admitted it took her some time to find her footing but was happy to turn the tables in the crucial moments.
“I was in a lot of tough positions this match, especially in the first set, but I’m really happy with how I pulled through it. May mga points na dapat sakanya na but I was able to get it,” she said.
With no empty seats left in the bleachers, Eala also took time to express her gratitude to the crowd, hoping to inspire her countrymen, many of whom were watching live tennis for the first time.
“I hope theyre just as motivated as me to watch tennis as I play tennis.”
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