Alex Eala is hot on the trail for her fourth professional title after a 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 win over hometown bet Lucia Cortez Llorca in the quarterfinal the W100 Vitoria-Gasteiz women’s singles tournament at the Peña Vitoriana Tennis Club in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain Friday evening (Manila time).
It took Eala, 18, two hours and 12 minutes to get past her Spanish foe to inch closer to another title win and couldn’t wait to go deeper in the tournament.
The graduate of the world-famous Rafael Nadal Academy defeated Mi Tianmi of China in the Round of 16, 6-3, 6-7, 6-0, to set up the match with Cortez Llorca.
“My first 100k semifinal tomorrow,” Eala said in a social media post.
Eala, who won the US Open Junior title last year, will be facing third seed Jessika Ponchet of France in the semifinal.
Eala and Ponchet, No. 137 in the Women’s Tennis Association rankings, have faced each other three times with the French netter winning twice.
The three-time Southeast Asian Games bronze medalist will have to be at her best if she wants to make it to her first W100 final.
Eala, No. 258 in the WTA rankings, last won a title last June at the W25 Yecla women’s singles tournament in Spain.
She is getting ready as well for the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China from 23 September to 8 October.
