Alex Eala breezed through to the quarterfinals of the ASB Classic in New Zealand after a dominant 6-0, 6-2 victory over Petra Marcinko in Auckland on Thursday.
The Filipina tennis ace needed just a little below one hour and three minutes to grab the victory, which set her quarterfinal date against either Magda Linette or Elisabette Cocciaretto.
“I’m very happy with the match, different conditions from the night session that I played the other day. Overall, a great level,” Eala said after the match, as posted on the ASB Classic website.
“I think she had great shots, and at one point it became close, but I’m happy pulling off the win.
After getting the bagel in the first set, Eala continued on in the second set, winning the first game before dropping the second one.
The Croatian then took the 2-1 lead, but the fourth-seeded star from the Philippines blanked her opponent all the way through.
“It’s never easy. The further they go, the harder it is to come back. But she kept fighting, and I just had to stay there and be solid,” Eala continued.
Meanwhile, Eala and American partner Iva Jovic entered the ASB Classic doubles semifinal after a walkover win over Jesika Maleckova of Czechia and Renata Zarazua of Mexico on Thursday.
Eala and Jovic missed the chance to play the decorated doubles tandem of Maleckova and Zarazua, but they set a duel against the third-seeded Chinese pair of Yifan Xu and Zhaoxuan Yang on Saturday.
Xu and Yang advanced to the semis with a 6-4, 1-6, 10-5 win over Isabelle Haverlag of the Netherlands and Maia Lumsden of Great Britain.
The Filipino and American duo opened their campaign with a gutsy 7-6(7), 6-1 win over WTA No. 13 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine and seven-time major champion Venus Williams.
Both Eala and Jovic are also bound for the quarterfinals of the singles tournament of the WTA 250 tournament.
