Alex Eala barged into the semifinals of the W60 Nantes International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournament after her third-seeded French rival Leolia Jeanjean retired in their quarterfinals match on Thursday, Nov. 2, in France.

The unseeded Eala prevailed, 6-4, 2-0 (ret) after having to crawl back from a 4-1 deficit in the first set before Jeanjean retired in the second frame.

Eala’s win booked her semis meeting with Gabriela Knutson of the Czech Republic, who bounced back from an opening set loss to outplay Great Britain’s Yuriko Lily Miyazaki, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-1.

The other semis pit hometown bets Oceane Dodin and Elsa Jacquemot, who swept their respective foes.

The top-seeded Dodin bested fellow Frenchwoman Harmony Tan, 6-4, 6-4, while Jacquemot downed fourth seed Polina Kudermetova, 7-6 (2), 6-2.

Against Knutson, Eala has a lower ranking at No. 193 compared to the Czech’s 179.

Knutson is also coming off a title win in the W40 Quinta do Lago in Portugal last month – her fourth this year.

Eala, for her part, is looking at her fifth singles title with her recent victory coming from the W25 Roehampton in Great Britain last August.