Alex Eala edged Zeynep Sonmez of Turkey, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, to advance to the quarterfinals of the W60 Nantes singles tournament in France on Wednesday, Nov. 1 (Manila time).

Eala displayed steely nerves in the first set, fighting back from a 4-2 hole before prevailing in the thrilling tiebreak and marched into the next round against local bet Leolia Jeanjean on Thursday.

It was the same story in the second set with her Turkish rival holding a 4-1 lead before the Filipina sensation scored five straight games.

Eala’s victory fuelled her morale after bowing out early in her past tournaments this year.

The world No. 193 is also eyeing for her fifth ITF title after bagging her fourth last August.

Eala recently bannered the Nationals in the 19th Hangzhou Asian Games in China, where she pocketed two bronze medals in singles and mixed events with Francis Casey Alcantara.