Alex Eala made it interesting. Then she made it count.
The second-seeded Filipina rallied through a draining opening-set tiebreak to beat Croatia’s Antonia Ruzic, 7-6(7), 7-5, on Friday evening at the Victoria Park Centre Court and advance to the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open semifinals, where she will face fourth seed Maria Sakkari.
A Set Full of Breaks
The first five games were routine. Eala won the first, third, and fifth games to love, and Ruzic dropped just one point across the second and fourth to leave the Filipina ahead, 3-2.
Then the match got tense. Ruzic pushed Eala to 0-30 in the sixth game, but Eala won four straight points with her aggressive baseline play to level at 3-3. The seventh was the real test. Ruzic earned three break points at 0-40, and Eala, 21, saved all three before the game stretched to deuce. In the end, Ruzic had seven break chances, converting the seventh to move ahead, 4-3.
From there, the two traded breaks across six games and arrived at 6-6.
Another 5-0 Lead, Another Wobble for Alex Eala
Alex Eala raced to a commanding 5-0 lead in the tiebreak, the same advantage she built in the second set of her previous win against Tereza Valentova. And, as in that match, her opponent made a push. Ruzic won four straight points to cut the deficit to 5-4. This time, though, Eala held her nerve and closed out the tiebreak, 9-7.
Rain Delay, Final Push
The second set followed a similar pattern. The opening game went to six deuces before Ruzic held, and Eala answered with a comfortable hold to level at 1-1. The two then traded breaks, and Eala, now the world No. 17, finally broke the cycle with a hold in the sixth for a 4-2 lead.
Ruzic, 23, wouldn’t go away. She held in a demanding seventh game, and after a brief rain delay in the eighth, she won three straight games to turn a 2-4 deficit into a 5-4 lead.
Eala had an answer. She held serve in the 10th game, then played an impressive return game in the 11th to take the lead again. A crucial hold in the 12th completed a three-game surge and sealed the match.
The Filipina won the winners battle, 40-33, which made the difference in a match this close.
Sakkari now awaits in the semifinals. The fourth seed advanced by beating Aliaksandra Sasnovich, 6-2, 6-3, in their quarterfinal match.
Alex Eala Next Match
Tournament: WTA 250 Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open
Event: Singles — Semifinals: Alex Eala vs. Maria Sakkari
Date: Saturday, November 7
Time: 4:00 p.m. (Time subject to change.)
