ALEX Eala is back in the semifinals after she and Ukrainian partner Nadiia Kichenok booked a 6-3, 7-5 win over Russia’s Polina Kudermetova and Kamilla Rakhimova in the quarterfinals of the WTA 125 Guangzhou on Friday.
Eala and Kichenok, who has reached as high as world No. 22 in doubles, jumped to a 2-0 lead in the opening set before the Russian pair tied it at 3-all. The duo then broke serve and swept the next three games to secure the first set.
The second frame saw four deadlocks, the last at 5-5, before Eala and Kichenok powered through to seal the straight-sets victory.
The win marked Filipino tennis star's second straight in her doubles comeback. The two-time junior Grand Slam doubles champion is still chasing her first professional doubles crown.
Eala and Kichenok will next face either top seeds Quinn Gleason of the U.S. and Russian Elena Pridankina or the pair of Katarzyna Piter of Poland and Tara Tjen of Indonesia in the semifinal.
Eala earlier bowed out of singles play after a round-of-32 exit. This is following two consecutive first round exits in her recent Asian tournaments in Japan and China.
Last Monday, Eala earned her career-best ranking No. 53 in the latest WTA update.
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