Eala edges Ruzic, faces tough test in HK Open semis

Sports

ALEX Eala dug deep into her arsenal to edge out a hard-fighting Antonia Ruzic, scoring a 7-6 (7), 7-5 win in their quarterfinal match of the Hong Kong Tennis Open on Friday night, Nov. 6.

The World No. 17 Eala, seeded second in the WTA 250 tournament, survived a grueling two-hour, 30-minute battle to advance to the semifinal round.

Up next for the 21-year-old Eala is 31-year-old Greek Maria Sakkari.

Unlike Eala, Sakkari found less trouble in dispatching her quarterfinal opponent as she dismantled Aliaksandra Sasnovich, 6-3, 6-3.

Owner of two singles titles, Sakkari is a two-time Grand Slam semifinalist who is currently No. 30 in the world. Her career-high ranking was No. 3.

It is the deepest run that Eala has had so far in her last five WTA tournaments. The Filipina tennis star was eliminated in the second round of the Singapore Open and couldn’t get past the first round in the Wuhan Open.

Eala was eliminated in the second round of the Ningbo Open and managed a quarterfinal finish in the Tokyo Open.(CCM)