Alex Eala cruised to a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Chinese rival YeXin Ma to book a finals berth in the W25 Chiang Rai International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournament in Thailand Saturday.
It was Eala’s third straight-set victory after having swept Japan’s Momoko Kobori, 6-3, 6-3, in the quarterfinals and Thailand’s Patcharin Cheapchandej, 6-3, 7-4, in the second round.
She survived the opening round against Serbia’s Katarina Kozarov, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.
The win set up Eala a title duel with wildcard bet Luksika Kumkhum of Thailand, who dominated Japanese Erika Sema, 6-4, 6-4.
Though Kumkhum is 12 years older than Eala, the 16-year-old PH bet has a higher Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) ranking at No. 533 compared to the Thai’s No. 955.
But Kumkhum ranked as high as No. 66 in 2018 and has more than 15 ITF titles including the last one in 2021 at the W15 Monastir in Tunisia.
Eala, for her part, is looking for her second pro title after winning the W15 Manacor in Spain last year.