Filipina ace netter Alexandra “Alex” Eala overcame a tough challenge before disposing of her opponent Anca Alexia Todoni of Romania in two sets, 7-5, 6-2, in the quarterfinals of the singles event at the Indore ITF World Tennis Tour W50 in Indore, India.
The 18-year-old world-ranked 184 showed resilience in the first set, initially tying the score at 5-5 before executing a breakpoint and service winner to secure her comeback on the way to the semifinal round.
Her 19-year-old adversary, Todori, WTA-ranked 235 and ITF-ranked 635, tried to bounce back in the second set by taking an early lead but was quickly left behind as the Asian Games double bronze medalist stepped up her attack, winning four consecutive games for a 4-1 lead.
Eala, the 2022 US Open Junior Women’s champion, maintained her lead, although Todori managed to narrow the gap to 4-2 by scoring the last two points towards advancing to the semifinals.
In the next round, the 3rd seed Eala will face the 2nd seed Polibna Kudermetova of Russia, holding a WTA Singles ranking of 188 and reaching a career high of 132 in 2023. Kudermetova defeated Eri Shimizu of Japan in three sets, 7-6 (3), 5-7, and 6-2.
Eala’s journey to the quarterfinals included a victory over Ekaterina Yashina of Russia in three sets, 7-6(1), 6-7(4), 6-0.