ALEXANDRA EALA aims to move a step closer to a second career title as she goes for a spot in the semifinals of the Suzhou Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) 125 on Friday at the Sungent International Tennis Center in China.
The world No. 58 and fourth seed in the tournament, Eala takes on world No. 70 and tournament sixth seed Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland in the quarterfinals.
Germany’s Tatjana Maria, 38, second seed and world No. 44, was first into the semifinals with a walkover against fifth seed Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan.
Eala had a one-day break after making it to the round of eight with a 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 7-5 victory over world No. 106 Greet Minnen of Belgium. In the Round of 32, Eala beat world No. 124 Katarzyna Kawa of Poland, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5.
Golubic, 32, defeated 20-year-old world No. 140 Linda Fruhvirtova of the Czech Republic, 6-2, 6-0.
Eala topped the Guadalajara 125 Open last month to become the first Filipina to win a WTA event.
The 20-year-old Filipina then bowed out at the quarterfinal stage of the SP Open, a WTA 250 event in Sao Paulo, and made it to the semifinals of the Jingshan Open, a WTA 125 event in China.
The top half of the draw has 20-year-old Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva, the world No. 109 from Andorra, taking on Kyoka Okamura, the world No. 196 from Japan.
Kasintseva beat Jingshan Open winner Lulu Sun of New Zealand, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, while Okamura defeated 39-year-old Varvara Lepchenko of the US, 6-1, 7-6(2).
Katie Volynets of the US, 23 years old and the world No. 107, faces 27-year-old Caroline Dolehide, also of the US, for a place in the semifinals.
Volynets defeated third seed and world No. 57 Suzan Lamens of the Netherlands, 7-5, 6-1, while Dolehide beat world No. 243 Joanna Garland of Taiwan, 6-4, 6-4.