Alex Eala displayed nerves of steel, overcoming a late challenge from Croatia’s Antonia Ruzic to secure a 7-6 (9-7), 7-5 victory and advance to the semifinals of the 2026 WTA Hong Kong Open late Friday night at the Victoria Park Tennis Stadium.
The Filipina fought through a grueling two-set encounter, saving crucial break points and recovering from multiple momentum swings before finally putting away Ruzic in a match that tested her composure from start to finish.
Eala set the tone early, opening the match with a love hold before maintaining her advantage through the first few games. She even produced three consecutive love holds on serve as she looked poised to take control of the opening set.
Ruzic, however, proved difficult to shake off, keeping pace with the Filipina and eventually forcing a series of tense exchanges.
The Croatian threatened to pull away after breaking Eala to take a 4-3 lead, but the 20-year-old responded with a break of her own to level the score at 4-4.
The two continued trading blows, with Eala saving several break points in a lengthy seventh game before Ruzic broke again to move ahead, 5-4.
With the Croatian serving for the set, Eala showed her fighting spirit once more, breaking back to force a 5-5 deadlock.
Ruzic regained the advantage at 6-5, but Eala refused to fold, eventually forcing a tiebreak. The Filipina raced to a 4-0 lead and held her nerve despite seeing Ruzic claw her way back before closing out the breaker, 7-6 (9-7).
The second set proved just as demanding, with both players exchanging breaks early.
Eala initially took a 2-1 lead after breaking Ruzic, only for the Croatian to respond immediately and level the set. The Filipina broke again to go up 3-2 and later extended her advantage to 4-2 with a crucial hold.
Ruzic continued to fight, though, breaking back to tie the set at 4-4 after play was briefly suspended due to rain.
Following the interruption, the Croatian appeared to gain momentum, holding serve to take a 5-4 lead and put Eala under pressure.
But the Filipina delivered when it mattered most.
Eala held serve to level the set at 5-5 before breaking Ruzic in the following game to seize a 6-5 advantage. She then stepped up to serve for the match, quickly building a 40-0 lead and earning three match points.
Although Ruzic managed to save one, Eala kept her composure and converted her opportunity to complete the straight-sets victory.
The win sends Eala into the semifinals after another impressive week in Hong Kong, highlighted by her breakthrough quarterfinal triumph over Tereza Valentova on Thursday.
Eala finally got one over the Czech after previously falling short against her, prevailing 6-4, 7-6 (7) to book her place in the last eight.
She opened her campaign with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over lucky loser Emerson Jones on Tuesday, setting the stage for her impressive run through the tournament.
