Two wins away from a title!
Alex Eala has not been having a good 2023 so far.
But the young Fillipino tennis star appears to be hitting her groove, at least at the Y25 Yecla tournament being held in Spain as part of the International Tennis Federation’s calendar of tournaments.
Eala, who turned 18 last month, continued her strong play in Spain on Saturday, beating Mexico’s Victoria Rodriguez in straight sets, 6-1, 6-3, to enter the semifinals of the W25 Yecla at the Yecla Club de Tenis in Spain.
With the straight-sets win over Rodriguez, Eala has now won five consecutive sets in impressive fashion, after capping her comeback win versus’ Nahia Berecoechea with a pair of 6-1 sets on Friday.
One of the scholars of the renowned Rafael Nadal Academy, Eala looked very impressive against Rodriguez, breezing through the match in just 66 minutes and navigating through some tense moments in the second set.
Rodriguez, who has 9 ITF titles to Eala’s 2 and is 10 years older, was still very much in the match in the second set, tying it at 2-2 and keeping Eala within striking distance at 4-3.
But the Filipino, ranked 266th by the Women’s Tennis Association, turned up the jets from that point on, winning the next two games to book a semis seat—her first in this trying season.
With a semifinal seat secured, Eala is already guaranteed of her best finish this season. But the job isn’t finish. Eala will next take on Argentina’s against Lucia Peyre, a 17-year-old qualifier looking to continue her Cinderella run in this tournament.
It will be up to Eala to end that run, so she can inch even closer to that breakthrough title.