Alex Eala earned her maiden semifinals berth in an ITF W100 tournament after a rousing 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 conquest of hometown favorite Lucia Cortez Llorca in the quarterfinals on Saturday (Manila time) at the Peña Vitorian Tenis Club in Vitoria Gasteiz, Spain.
Llorca initially made Eala doubt her plans by breaking the latter’s first serve, but the Filipino returned the favor and took the opening set with three service breaks of her own.
Eala then found herself in a deep 0-3 hole in the second set, which proved to be overwhelming despite her late run. This allowed Llorca to force Eala into yet another decider.
However, the Filipino star leaned back on the things that gave her a dominant start, ultimately closing out Llorca and securing her first-ever semifinals berth.
In the semifinals on Saturday, Eala will be gunning for a place in the final against Jessika Ponchet of France.
