ALEX Eala hacked out a stunning 7-6 (5), 6(1)-7, 6-2 win over seasoned foe Jaqueline Adina Cristian of Romania to advance in the W100 Vitoria-Gasteiz singles second round yesterday in Spain.

The Filipina teen netter wasted a huge 5-2 lead in the second set but recovered in time to overcome the fifth-seeded Romanian in more than three hours of the back-and-forth duel.

Despite being unseeded in the elite $100,000 tourney, Ms. Eala actually controlled the majority of the match by leading as many as three games in the first two sets only to meet a strong Ms. Cristian resistance each time.

Ms. Eala, 18, led by 5-2 in the first but still needed a tiebreaker to escape with a narrow win. Ms. Eala once again pulled away at 5-2 in the second but the 25-year-old Romanian completed a comeback in the tiebreaker to force a rubber match.

There was no slowing down Ms. Eala from there on, breaking Ms. Cristian’s serve thrice to race to a 5-1 lead for the win. She will face Tianmi Mi of China in the Round of 16 for a seat in the quarterfinals.

Ms. Eala’s win in the singles play was a big follow-up to her triumph in the doubles tilt with Spanish partner Marina Bassols Ribera.

The unseeded Filipina-Spanish duo scored a 6-2, 6-2 sweep against the No. 2 seed Indian duo of  Ankita Raina and Prarthana Thombare in only 64 minutes to march on to the quarterfinals.

Mmess. Eala and Ribera were to shoot for a semifinal seat against Estelle Cascino of France and Diana Marcinkevica of Latvia last night.

The WTA No. 258 Eala, fresh from her graduation at the Rafael Nadal Academy in Mallorca, Spain, is eyeing her fourth title in the women’s pro circuit. — John Bryan Ulanday

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