ALEX Eala barged into the quarterfinals of the WTA 250 ASB Classic with a dominant 6-0, 6-2 victory over Croatia’s Petra Marcinko on Thursday morning, Manila time, in Auckland, New Zealand.
The Filipina ranked No. 53 in the world made it look easy against the world No. 82, winning the first three games in just 10 minutes of play and never letting her fellow 20-year old put a score on the board until the first game of the second set.
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Eala was so dominant she converted all three of her break points in the first set.
The second set saw the Croatian briefly take her first lead at 2-1, but Eala quickly broke back in the fourth game to level the score at 2-2. From there, the Filipina sustained her momentum, winning four straight games to seal the win in an hour and three minutes.
The ASB Classic marks Eala’s first tournament of 2026 following her Southeast Asian Games gold medal triumph for the Philippines last December. It also serves as her first competitive tune-up ahead of her Australian Open debut on January 18.
Eala will next face the winner of the match between fifth seed Magda Linette and Elisabetta Cocciaretto.
With the crowd heavily dominated by Filipinos, Eala expressed her appreciation in a post-match interview following her opening-round win.
“Home is a people and not the place,” she said.
In the doubles draw, Eala and American partner Iva Jovic will also see action in the quarterfinals on Friday at 10:00 a.m. against Renata Zarazúa and Jesika Malečková.
The duo advanced to the second round after knocking off the veteran pair of Venus Williams and Elina Svitolina in their opening match.
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