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Alex Eala reaches singles quarters in Porto

Sports

Alex Eala reaches singles quarters in Porto

By Nikole Javier

At A Glance

The Filipina tennis ace marched into the quarterfinal round of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) W75 Porto in Portugal in dominant style against Ukrainian Katarina Zavatska, 6-0, 6-3, on Thursday, Feb. 22.

Alex Eala is seeking to stay on track in her bid for a fifth pro career title.

The Filipina tennis ace marched into the quarterfinal round of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) W75 Porto in Portugal in dominant style against Ukrainian Katarina Zavatska, 6-0, 6-3, on Thursday, Feb. 22.

Eala, 18, was relentless from start until endgame two weeks since suffering a nasty early exit in the Abu Dhabi Open.

In the second set, the 24-year-old Zavatska regained momentary consciousness after taking a 2-1 early lead.

However, the Filipina then seized control after winning Games 4 and 5 in succession, 3-2, before finding herself in a deadlock.

Despite Zavatska’s efforts to turn the tide to her side, Eala cruised to the top and never looked back.

The world No. 188 Eala claimed a 6-4, 6-2 victory over 26-year-old veteran Raluca Georgiana Serban of Cyprus in the opening round where she shrugged off a slow start in the eventual lopsided affair.

There will be no rest for the weary Filipina as she is set to jump straight to the quarterfinals of the singles events against Italian Anna Bondár on Friday, Feb. 23, at 8:30 p.m. shortly after falling short in the quarters of the doubles event where she and British partner Ali Collins succumbed to the German-British pairing of 30-year-olds Alicia Barnett and Anna-Lena Friedsam, 3-6, 4-6.

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