RED-HOT Alex Eala essayed a 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 comeback win against home bet Taylah Preston to march on to the Final Four of the Workday Canberra International on Thursday in Australia.
Ranked No. 147 in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), Ms. Eala capitalized on Ms. Preston’s sloppy play in the decider behind an aggressive service and return game to score the quarterfinal win in one hour and 52 minutes.
The 19-year-old Filipina sensation forced Ms. Preston, WTA No. 170, to four errors including two in the rubber set to complete a near shutout and move closer to a pro title to start the New Year.
Holder of five singles and three doubles titles in her young career, Ms. Eala did it after rising all the way from the qualifiers, where she proved her billing as the No. 1 seed by sweeping her way to the main draw.
The proud graduate of the Rafael Nadal Academy in Spain first trounced a pair of home bets in Catherine Aulia, 6-1, 6-2, and Alana Subasic, 5-7, 6-0, 6-1, in the qualifiers to advance.
Ms. Eala, a former US Open junior champion, then beat Austria’s Sinja Kraus, 6-2, 6-4, in the Round of 32 and Dutch standout Arianne Hortono, 6-3, 6-3, in the Round of 16.
A deep run in Canberra should be an added fire to Ms. Eala’s motivation for a much-awaited stint in the Australian Open from Jan. 12 to 26 in Melbourne.
This will be her first Grand Slam tourney this year after a series of near-breakthroughs in 2024, including qualifying round finals stints in the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open.
In those majors, she came so close to etching history as the first player to ever play in a Grand Slam main draw, which she hopes to finally achieve in the Australian Open, where she’s a former junior doubles champion. — John Bryan Ulanday