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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Alex Eala books semis berth, assures herself of medal in Asiad

Alex Eala books semis berth, assures herself of medal in Asiad

Published Sep 27, 2023 05:40 am

At A Glance

  • The victory arranged the 18-year-old Filipina sensation a semis date with the winner between top seed Zheng Qinwen of China and Park Sohyun of South Korea, who are playing at presstime.

Alex Eala launched one of the biggest comebacks in her career after turning back Kyoka Okamura of Japan, 0-6, 7-5, 6-0, for a spot in the women’s singles semifinals in the tennis competitions of the 19th Asian Games on Wednesday, Sept. 27.

alex eala asiad
Alex Eala makes it to the women's singles semifinals at the Asian Games.

The fourth-seeded Eala bucked a slot start and a 0-2 second-set deficit by launching a furious rally to inch closer to the gold medal at the HOC Tennis Centre in Hangzhou, China.

The victory arranged the 18-year-old Filipina sensation a semis date with the winner between top seed Zheng Qinwen of China and Park Sohyun of South Korea, who are playing at presstime.

It also assured Eala of at least a bronze medal in the quadrennial event, ending the country’s 17-year-old medal drought in the sport or since Cecil Mamiit and Eric Taino won two bronze medals for Team PH in the 2006 Doha edition.

For a moment, Eala appeared to be struggling with her shots that had the 11th-picked Okamura dictating the tempo in the opening frame.

But the Filipina bet rose to the occasion in the second set, slowly building up the momentum by breaking the Japanese’s serve three times to extend the match into a decider.

There was no turning back for Eala in the third frame as she pounced on her rival with crisp shots and strong serves. She even overcame three break points to hold serve for 5-0, before sealing the win after two hours and 27 minutes.

Eala, however, is not settling for less.

Her job is not yet done as she and Francis Casey Alcantara are scheduled to battle top seed yuki Bhambri and Ankita Ravinderkrishan Raina of India in the third round of the mixed doubles event later in the afternoon.

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