Eala beats Valentova to reach Hong Kong Open quarter-finals
The Filipina will face Antonia Ruzic after improving on her second-round finish at last year’s tournament.
Alex Eala of the Philippines defeated Czechia’s Tereza Valentova in straight sets on November 5 to advance to the Hong Kong Open quarter-finals. The world No. 17 survived a second-set tiebreak to progress at the WTA 250 event.
Her next opponent is world No. 81 Antonia Ruzic, who eliminated No. 38 Wang Xinyu 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 earlier in the day. Eala’s quarter-final appearance takes her beyond last year’s second-round exit.
Valentova led 5-3 in the second set before Eala recovered to move ahead 6-5. The Czech player then forced a tiebreak, where she erased Eala’s 5-0 advantage to draw level at 6-all. Eala eventually prevailed after the pair were tied again at 7-all.
Eala converted all four of her break-point opportunities, while the 85th-ranked Valentova took three of 12. The Filipina hit three aces and 18 winners, compared with her opponent’s four aces and 29 winners.
After the match, Eala praised Valentova’s performance and said she had expected a difficult contest, having found their previous encounters challenging.
