Alex Eala endured what’s easily one of the longest matches she’s ever played, gutting out a 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (3-7), 7-5 win over Belgian Greet Minnen to progress to the Suzhou Open quarterfinals at the Sungent International Tennis Center in China yesterday.
With her fortitude and resilience, the fourth-seeded Eala emerged triumphant in the match that lasted over three hours, booking a Last 8 face-off with Swiss sixth seed Viktorija Goluvic.
Goluvic, with a career-high singles WTA ranking of No. 35 and currently at No. 90, made short work of Czech Republic’s Linda Fruhvirtova, 6-2, 6-0, in making the quarters.
Eala, on the other hand, needed to dig deep to overcome the power-hitting Minnen and reach a fourth straight quarters. For making the Last 8 at Suzhou, the Filipina ace is now guaranteed of $3,450 cash prize (over P200,000).
Eala survived a rollercoaster ride in the opening set, blowing away a 3-0 lead but then fighting back from 0-3 down in the tiebreak.
But Minnen, the WTA No. 72 with a career winnings of over $3 million, was a tough nut to crack, striking back in the second-set tiebreaker.
The fierce duel extended all the way to the third with Eala eventually prevailing on the third match point as Minnen’s power shot went long.
Minnen hammered nine aces as against Eala’s three. The Filipina, however, had the last laugh, scoring a total of 127 points as against Minnen’s 119.