Alex Eala slayed another seeded foe in 16th pick Catherin Sebov of Canada, 6-2, 6-1, to advance to the finals of the W60 Madrid International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournament in Spain Saturday.
The unseeded Eala was aggressive throughout for her best performance to date in a $60,000 event.
The victory arranged the Filipina teen sensation a championship meeting with another seeded rival in 14th pick Marina Bassols Ribera of Spain, who walloped Hong Kong’s Adithya Karunaratne, 6-1, 6-3.
Eala and Ribera have never met in the ITF circuit until now, with the 22-year-old Spaniard boasting of a higher ranking of 312 compared to the Filipina’s 413.
Ribera is also in search of her first title this year.
Eala, for her part, is looking at her second title this year and third overall following her victory at the W25 Chiang Rai in Thailand last April.
Prior to this tournament, she finished in the quarterfinals of the W25 Madrid.