By CARLO ANOLIN
Alex Eala and Spaniard partner Marina Bassols Ribera barged into the semifinal of the W25+H Palma del Rio after routing their opponents at the Polideportivo Municipal el Pandero in Spain Thursday, June 30 in Manila.
Eala and Bassols Rivera only needed an hour to whip Marta Huqi Gonzales Encinas of Spain and Ashley Lahey of the United States, 6-1, 6-3.
They arrange a semifinal showdown with Russian Valeria Savinykh and Hungarian Fanni Stollar, who earlier advanced via walkover.
The tandem of Gonzales and Lahey only won the first game in the opener before Eala and Bassols Rivera stepped on the gas and emerged victorious in six straight games to secure the set, 6-1.
Eala and Bassols Rivera, finalists in the W60 Madrid International Tennis Federation (ITF), rushed to a 4-0 lead in the next set before Gonzales and Lahey took three of the next four games to pull themselves with 5-3.
But it proved to be their last hurrah as Eala and Bassols Rivera scored two straight points to seal the deal.
Meanwhile, the 17-year-old Eala, who earlier defeated Jimar Geraldine Gerald Gonzalez, 6-2, 6-0, battles Jessika Ponchet of France in the round of 16 singles.
