By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
New York is indeed a happy and memorable place for Alex Eala.
Her “last minute” decision to compete in the US Open Juniors is turning out to be a good one as she continued to amaze her supporters in the Big Apple.
Her latest victim was Australian No. 8 seed Taylah Preston, who she beat in a tense duel, 6-2, 7-6 (1) to barge into the girls’ singles quarterfinals Wednesday, Sept. 7 (Thursday in Manila).
Eala, whose grandparents Frankie and Melinda met and fell in love in the city that “never sleeps,” displayed steely nerves in the second set where she rallied from a 4-1 deficit to prevail.
The first set was a breeze for Eala as she produced one winner after the other that had her supporters breaking into frenzied celebrations.
The win set the former World Juniors No. 2 up against Russian Mirra Andreeva, a 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 winner over Belgian Sofia Costoulas, in the quarters.
She advanced to the second round with a 6-2, 6-3 demolition Slovakian Natalia Vargova the other day.
The Filipina ace is bidding for her first semis appearance in the event after reaching the quarters last year.
Problem is, Eala will be facing Andreeva who is her doubles partner.
That’s the interesting part of her New York journey this time.
The two also made it to the second after smashing the American tandem of Shannon Lam and Iva Jovic, 6-2, 6-2.
Eala and Andreeva next battle Germans Carolina Kuhl and Ella Seidel, who dumped Bulgarian Denislava Glushkova and Spanish Raquel Gonzales Vilar, 6-2, 6-4.
