By MARK REY MONTEJO
Red-hot Alex Eala turned her slow start into a dominant outing and notched a 6-4, 6-0 win over Japanese Himeno Sakatsume to barge into the quarterfinals of the WTA 125 Philippine Women’s Open here at the jam-packed Rizal Memorial Tennis Center Wednesday evening, Jan. 28.
The 20-year-old Eala, who had a heavily-bandaged right thigh, bucked a sluggish opening set, which lasted more than 50 minutes, after she transformed their tight round-of-16 battle into a one-sided affair in the second set where she swiftly swept her Japanese rival.
With her win, the No. 2 seeded Eala set up a quarters showdown against No. 5 seed Colombian Camila Osorio, who dispatched Japanese Mai Hontama, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, in the prior round.
This will be the first time Eala and Osorio, world No. 84, would meet in the WTA Tour.
Eala, currently WTA’s No. 49, also struck back at Sakatsume after the Japanese prevailed in their first encounter, 6-0, 6-3, in the first round of the 2023 Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships in Osaka.
“Masaya, super enjoyable. I am so very happy with the win, even with the score, it was close throughout the match,” said Eala.
“I was in a lot of tough positions in this match, especially in the first set, but I’m really how I fought through it,” she added.
As expected, the venue was filled with Filipino fans who witnessed an early nip-and-tuck affair from the two Asian netters in the inaugural tennis joust on Philippine soil.
But Eala, buoyed by the crowd, broke free from a 4-4 deadlock in the opening set, highlighted by several long rallies, after saving four break points, then followed it up with a powerful forehand in the ninth game to seize the advantage.
Eala never looked back from there, rolling through the second set by winning the next six games.
No. 4 seed Croatian Donna Vekic, also loved by the fans, advanced to the knockout round as she turned back Mariia Tkacheva, 6-1, 6-2, to arrange a showdown versus unseeded Chinese Lin Zhu.
Meanwhile, Stefi Aludo and Tenny Madis, two of the country’s top netters, showed promise in doubles before bowing to Japanese pair Mana Ayukawa and Kanako Morisaki, 6-2, 6-2.
Another Filipina duo in Rovie Baulete and Elsie Abarquez stumbled as well against Japan’s Hiroko Kuwata and China’s Qiu Yu Ye, 6-0, 6-2.
