By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Alex Eala and Natsumi Kawaguchi stunned third seed Natela Dzalamidze of Georgia and Sofya Lansere, 4-6, 6-3, 12-10, to barge into the doubles semifinals of the W100 Tokyo International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournament in Japan on Thursday, Sept. 7.
The unseeded Filipino-Japanese pair bucked an opening-set loss and dominated the second before surviving a tense third set showdown.
The victory set them up a semis date with British second seeds Alicia Barnett and Olivia Nicholis, who drew a bye.
Eala’s doubles triumph came a day after bowing in her second round singles match against Australian Kimberly Birrell, 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2.
The 18-year-old Eala is gunning for her first doubles pro title.
