Eala breezes past Yamaguchi en route to third straight quarterfinals

September 26 ------ ALEX Eala made quick work of Japan’s Mei Yamaguchi, 6-0, 6-3, to secure her third straight quarterfinal appearance this month at the WTA 125 Jingshan Open in China. The Filipino, ranked No. 58 in the world, kept her momentum rolling and restricted the world No. 268 to just scoring three games in the one-hour, 12-minute match. It took Eala only 10 minutes to find her rhythm with a commanding 3-0 start in the opener, which she carried into a ruthless push in the following set.

Yamaguchi managed to get on the board only in the third game of the second set, 2-1, then stretched to 4-3, but Eala proved too strong to falter and shut the door quick. Eala, the tournament’s top seed and lone top 100 player in the field, is the clear favorite to deliver, as she kicks off her Asian Swing. She will next face either home bet Jia-Jing Lu, No. 349, or India’s Riya Bhatia, No. 203.

The 20-year-old rising star is chasing her second WTA title after claiming her maiden crown at the WTA 125 Guadalajara just two weeks ago. She also graced the quarterfinal of the Sao Paulo Open in Brazil before starting her Asian swing. Come October, Eala is listed for the WTA 1000-level Hong Kong Open.

Source: spin.ph