By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Alex Eala outhustled Chinese qualifier Mi Tianmi, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-0, to storm into the quarterfinals of the W100 Vitoria-Gasteiz International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournament in Spain on Friday, July 21.
The unseeded Eala recovered furiously from a tight second-set defeat by blanking her Chinese foe in the deciding third frame.
Apart from Eala, two other unseeded players also advanced to the Final 8.
The victory set up Eala a quarters date with Spaniard Lucia Cortez Llorca, who downed wildcard bet Lucia Llinares Domingo also of Spain, 6-2, 6-4.
This marks the first time that Eala and Llorca would meet in the ITF pro circuit, with the world No. 406 Spaniard seeking her first pro singles crown.
Meanwhile, Eala and her partner Marina Bassols Ribera of Spain lost to France’s Estelle Cascino and Latvia’s Diana Marcinkevica, 7-5, 1-6, 11-9.
A victory for Eala and Ribera could have arranged them a semifinal meeting with Thai duo Luksika Kumkhum and Peangtarn Plipuech, who toppled Poland’s Gina Feistel and Great Britain’s Emilie Lindh.
The Thais are seeded third in the tournament.
