By NIKOLE JAVIER
Alex Eala barged into the semifinals of the W25 Roehampton in style after stunning top seed Priscilla Hon of Australia, 6-2, 6-4, on Friday, Aug. 10 in Great Britain.
The 18-year-old Filipina hung tough in the second set in the face of Hon’s fightback to book a third semis appearance this year.
After the first set that saw Eala dominate, Hon gathered steam as she crawled back from a 5-1 hole by winning three straight games to close in on the gap.
Before it was too late, though, the Filipina tennis star came to her senses to come away with the win and boost her bid for a fourth ITF title.
The Filipina bet is set to face 27-year-old Arianne Hartono of the Netherlands at 5 p.m. (Manila time) on Saturday, Aug. 12.
Eala opened her campaign in the $25,000 International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournament with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Australian qualifier Gabrielle Da Silva-Fick before escaping past doubles partner Destanee Aiava, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, in the quarterfinals.
A day prior to her singles semis qualification, the 2022 US Open girls champion crashed out of contention in the doubles event against Australian pair Petra Hule and Talia Gibson, 1-6, 5-7.
