Eala sets up rematch with Shnaider in Tokyo Open

Sports

ALEX Eala overcame a sluggish start to turn back Talia Gibson, 4-6, 6-2, 6-0, in the Round of 16 of Tokyo Open on Wednesday, Oct. 28, in Japan.

The victory sent the 21-year-old Eala to the quarterfinal round where she will take on a very familiar face.

The No. 8 seed Eala will take on No. 3 seed Russian Diana Shnaider, who reached the Final 8 by overcoming qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3.

Eala and Shnaider met a week ago in the Ningbo Open where the world No. 13 Russian pulled off a 7-5, 6-4 win.

The world No. 19 Eala earned a chance to score a revenge against Shnaider after reasserting her dominance over Gibson.

While it was their first meeting in a WTA-sanctioned event, Eala had faced and defeated the Australian Gibson twice in International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournaments.

The 22-year-old Gibson tried to flip the script when she won a hard-fought first set. Eala, however, played true to form in the second set then totally dominated Gibson in the third set to seal the victory.

The Eala-Shnaider match is slated Friday, Oct. 30.(CCM)