Alex Eala celebrates a win in W60 Madrid. –ALEX EALA FACEBOOK
MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala quickly pulled off a 6-1, 6-4 stunner over No.3 Jaimee Fourlis of Australia on Friday to barge into the semifinals of the W60 Madrid at Club Deportivo Brezo Osuna in Spain.
The 17-year-old, who is ranked No. 413, only needed 68 minutes to finish off Fourlis, who is World Tennis Association’s No. 182 and recently won the W25 Madrid and W60 Brasov in Romania.
Eala unleashed a rousing 5-0 start in the first set before the Aussie forced a neck-and-neck second frame tied at 4-all.
The Filipino tennis star was able to put on the finishing touches to book a ticket to the semis, where she will face Katherine Sebov of Canada in the $60,000 tournament.
Sebov took down France’s Carole Monet, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3, in the other quarterfinal match.
Eala and Sebov will clash for a finals berth on Saturday.
The Rafael Nadal Academy scholar is two victories away from winning her third professional crown after ruling the W15 Manacor last year and W25 Chiang Rai in April.
Eala has won four straight matches including a 0-6, 6-2, 7-5 victory over Spain’s Yvonne Cavelle-Reimers on Thursday