Alexandra Eala weathered another long and difficult game, this time against world no. 72 Belgian Greet Minnen for a 7-6 (7-5), 6-7(3-7), 7-5 verdict on Wednesday at the Suzhou Open WTA 125 tournament’s second round in China.
The win put the world no. 56 Eala in a confrontation with Swiss netter Victorija Golubic in the quarterfinals.
The world. no. 72 Golubic disposed of Czech rival Linda Fruhvirtova, 6-2, 6-0.
Things turned in Eala’s favor in the last two games of third set, in a game which lasted three hours and 18 minutes.
The 20-year-old Eala held serve in the 11th game after Minnen, known for her strong baseline approach, began showing signs of slowing down, sending one return shot to the net, and lobbing another one of out of bounds.
This allowed Eala to hold serve, break a 5-all tie and take the lead, 6-5.
Eala stayed patient with her baseline approach in the 12th game, with Minnen committing errors as the Filipina forced two deuces.
Minnen hit a pair of net errors, allowing Eala to win the final game, and reach the quarterfinals with Golubic, German Tatjana Maria and Russian Yulia Putintseva.
Maria earlier prevailed over French bet Leolia Jean Jean, 6-4, 6-2, while Putintseva defeated Hungarian Dalia Gaifi, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5.
Eala earlier came out of another long game when she outlasted her tormentor Katarzyna Kawa of Poland, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, in a rain-delayed contest that lasted around seven hours.
