Eala outlasts Yashina and moves to W50 Indore quarterfinals

ALEX EALA zoomed to another playoff run, carving out a 7-6(1), 6(4)-7, 6-0 win against Russian Ekaterina Yashina to move on to the W50 Indore quarterfinals in India.

Ms. Eala, now the WTA No. 184 for her new career-best ranking, needed everything she could handle in the first two sets before flashing her brilliance in the perfect third-set performance for the gritty win in two hours and 39 minutes.

The 18-year-old Filipina tennis sensation flipped a 5-6 deficit in the first set and emerged victorious in the tiebreaker before absorbing the same fate in the second after wasting a 5-4 cushion.

But there was no stopping Ms. Eala, seeded No. 3, in the clincher by unloading crisp serves behind five aces and breaking Ekaterina’s own attempts for the win.

It’s the second straight quarterfinal stint for Ms. Eala in as many singles outings in India after also a Top-8 finish in W50 Pune last week.

In the same tournament, Ms. Eala captured her first doubles championship in the women’s professional circuit with partner Darja Semenistaja from Latvia.

Ms. Semenistaja, the No. 1 seed, however exited early in W50 Indore with a stunning 6-3, 6-4 defeat against Japan’s Saki Imamura in the second round.

Up next for Ms. Eala is the winner between No. 6 seed Anca Alexia Todoni and Japan’s Rina Saigo for a seat in the Final Four of the elite $50,000 tourney. — John Bryan Ulanday