By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
New year, same level of focus.
Eager to kick off her 2025 playing calendar with much-needed momentum, Filipina tennis sensation Alex Eala is currently having the time of her life after clinching a seat in the semifinal round of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) 125 Workday Canberra International tournament in Australia.
Eala formalized her playoff qualification after pulling off a huge come-from-behind win over Taylah Preston- 4.6, 6.2, 6.1- during the intense quarterfinal matchup at the Canberra International Tennis Centre.
Despite going down early in the match, Eala didn’t let that shade her adjustment plans and delivered in the second set with a stunning lopsided victory.
After an error-plagued opener, Eala regained her focus and targeted Preston’s backhand, her weaker side, and started to convert on her down-the-line forehand bombs.
The leftie star then capped off the second set with an off-the-bounce backhand winner and a service ace to completely take control of the match heading into the third.
It was the same level of intensity that Eala showed in the final set as she bullied Preston with her baseline drives and a more consistent service performance.
Preston showed signs of life after forcing Eala into the net with several drop shots, but the Filipina was wise not to get lured into the no man’s land and played her brand of tennis on the baseline.
After scoring back-to-back service breaks, Eala smelled blood and pummeled her way with a barrage of forehand groundstrokes that kissed the right corner line.
In the remaining exchanges, Eala put the cherry on top with a service return ace and a lopping forehand lob shot that helped her punch a semifinal ticket.
Before taking down Preston, Eala had to dig deep into the qualifiers and got the better of Catherine Aulia and Alana Subasic.
In the Round of 32, Eala pounced on Sinja Kraus via a 2-0 sweep, before handing Arianne Hartono the same fate in the Round of 16.
Eala is currently taking a much-needed rest before squaring off against her next opponent on January 4, 2024, who is yet to be determined depending on the next set of quarterfinal results.
