Alex Eala advances to W60 Vitoria-Gasteiz quarterfinals after walkover

Alex Eala in W60 Vitoria-Gasteiz. –ALEX EALA PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala was awarded with a walkover 1-6, 6-4, 4-1 over Taiwan’s Lee Ya-hsuan to barge into the quarterfinals of the W60 Vitoria-Gasteiz in Spain.

The 17-year-old Filipino recovered from a first set beating, getting the better of the 27-year-old Lee in the second set.

However, the round of 16 match was stopped after Lee was injured while Eala was leading 4-1 in the decider.

“I had a good comeback today although my opponent retired on the third set. Wishing her a speedy recovery. I play the Quarterfinals tomorrow,” said Eala in a Facebook post.

Eala will play in the quarterfinals of the $60, 000 tournament.

The Rafael Nadal Academy scholar opened her Vitoria-Gasteiz stint with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over hometown bet Berta Gutierrez Saiz in the round of 32.

Eala, who is eyeing her third professional crown, reached the finals in her last W60 tournament but lost to Marina Bassols Ribera last June.

She suffered a back-to-back round of 16 exits in her last two tournaments in W25 Palma del Rio and W25 Corroios-Seixal in Portugal a few weeks ago.