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Eala topples Swiss rival, advances to quarters in Ilkley Open

Sports

Eala topples Swiss rival, advances to quarters in Ilkley Open

By Kristel Satumbaga-Villar

At A Glance

Alex Eala displayed her fiery form anew and outclassed Swiss qualifier Valentina Ryser, 6-1, 6-2, to barge into the quarterfinals of the Lexus Ilkley Open in Great Britain on Thursday, June 12.

Alex Eala barges into the quarterfinals of the Ilkley Open after clobbering her Swiss rival. (File Photo/Alex Eala Facebook)

Alex Eala barges into the quarterfinals of the Ilkley Open after clobbering her Swiss rival. (File Photo/Alex Eala Facebook)

Alex Eala displayed her fiery form anew and outclassed Swiss qualifier Valentina Ryser, 6-1, 6-2, to barge into the quarterfinals of the Lexus Ilkley Open in Great Britain on Thursday, June 12.

The top-seeded Eala directed the tempo throughout the 68-minute match to keep her campaign for a breakthrough Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) title alive.

It was also Eala’s second win in her third meeting against Ryser, while also avenging her three-set loss in their last tussle in the W75 Trnava International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournament in Slovakia just last March.

With the win, Eala set up a meeting with the winner between local bet Emily Appleton and Canadian eighth seed Rebecca Marino, who are playing at press time.

After a 1-all deadlock, Eala immediately went on full throttle and destroyed Ryser’s game by claiming the next five games for the set win.

The Swiss showed signs of life in the second frame after breaking Eala’s serve to tie the match at 2-all, but the Filipina ace was quick to regroup and broke back Ryser’s serve in the fifth game on her way to prevailing the match.

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