Filipino tennis ace Alex Eala. Thailand ITF World Tennis Tour Photo
MANILA, Philippines – Alex Eala marched into the quarterfinal round of the W25 Chiang Rai tournament second leg after outlasting Amy Zhu of the United States, 6-3, 6-1, on Thursday at Court 4 of Chiang Rai Sports Center in Thailand.
The Filipino tennis star bucked a lethargic 0-2 start before getting the best of her 27-year-old foe in an hour and 19-minute second round duel.
Eala, who won her second International Tennis Federation (ITF) Women’s World Tennis Tour title in the first leg, will face Japan’s Erika Sema in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Sema ousted China’s Ma Ye Xin, 6-1, 6-3, in their round of 16 match.
The 16-year-old Filipino, however, and her Japanese Shiho Akita yielded in the doubles quarterfinal after absorbing a 6-7 (4-7), 2-6 defeat to Thai Luksika Kumkhum and Momoko Kobori of Japan.
Eala and Akita forced a neck-and-neck first set duel against the Thai-Japanese but lost steam in the second frame and failed to advance to the semifinal.