Eala advances to finals of Wimbledon qualifying draw, beats Zidansek of Slovenia

ALEX EALA zeroed in on a historic feat, pulling off a great 1-6, 7-6(9), 6-3 win over world No. 110 Tamara Zidansek of Slovenia to march on to the finals of the Wimbledon Open qualifying draw late Wednesday night in at the All England Club in London.

Up against the No. 14 seed Slovenian, Ms. Eala bucked off a near shutout in the first set behind a stunning escape act in the second set marathon and a clinic in the clincher for a massive second-round victory.

The win pushed Ms. Eala, WTA No. 162,  one step closer to becoming the first Filipina to make it to a Grand Slam tourney main draw, a mission she just fell short of achieving in the French Open last month with a tough finale defeat.

Resilience and composure against a seasoned foe spelled the difference for the 19-year-old ace, who stared on the brink of elimination in the second set with a 5-6 deficit.

Ms. Eala held her serve and forced a tiebreaker on a forehand winner, hacking out a thrilling 10-9 victory to stay alive and forge a decider.

And it was all Ms. Eala from there on as she rode on the momentum to spark a 2-0 cushion in the third set on her way to second straight win after beating Jessika Ponchet of France, 7-6(1), 6-4.

Ms. Eala only had one ace but banked on her crisp counter game by forcing Ms. Zidansek, a former world No. 22 and French Open semifinalist, to seven errors in the gruelling duel that lasted two hours and 33 minutes.

Unseeded and all, Ms. Eala will have a shot at history against No. 23 seed Lulu Sun of New Zealand in the finals, who ranks higher in the WTA at No. 123. — John Bryan Ulanday