It’s on to the finals for Alex Eala after she whipped Kayla Day of the United States, 6-2, 6-3, early Saturday morning (Manila time) in the semifinals of the Guadalajara 125 Open.
A long forehand volley was too far out of Day’s reach as Eala clinched the final game point that allowed her to win the second set, and that match.
This put the world no. 75 Eala up against Hungarian netter Panna Udvardy, who hurdled Russian Maria Kozyreva, 6-3, 6-4, in another semis clash.
The 20-year-old Eala will now be in contention for the $15,500 top purse for the winner of the singles, aside from getting 125 points, which could allow her to move up again in the World Tennis Association (WTA) rankings.
This will be Eala’s second finals’ appearance in a WTA tournament, after making it to the Lexus Eastbourne Open championships, where she lost to Maya Joint.
Eala did not waste time in her clash with Day, after the game was quickly over in just 25 minutes.
The 5’9” Eala scored 12 points off 21 first serves and gained the momentum in the first set, after she broke serve four times.
Things turned in her favor after Eala held serve in the fifth for a 3-2 lead.
After breaking Day’s serve for a 4-2 edge, Eala held the game for a 5-2 advantage.
In the eighth game, Eala took the set on a couple Day’s net errors.
Eala’s service winner earned her a 3-2 edge in the second set, and she gained a 4-2 spread off Day’s double fault and long forehand shot that went out.
An ace in the seventh game then gave Eala a 5-2 lead.
