Eala sweeps Japanese, marches into quarters

Alex Eala pulled off another sweep, beating Mei Yamaguchi of Japan, 6-0, 6-3, in the Round of 16 of the Jingshan Tennis Open on Thursday at the Jingshan International Tennis Tournament Center in China.

Eala, 20, needed one hour and 12 minutes to take down the No. 268 Yamaguchi as she advanced to her third straight quarterfinal in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Tour.

The No. 58-ranked tennis player is coming off a tough 6-3, 7-5 victory over Aliona Falei of Belarus in the Round of 32 where she struggled in the second set to pull off the win.

But against Yamaguchi, Eala started strong as she did not drop a game to claim the first set.

With the Rafael Nadal Academy graduate up 4-1 in the second set, Yamaguchi showed signs of life, breaking Eala’s serve to win back-to-back games.

But Eala won the last two games to complete the sweep and avoid a potential upset.

Her next opponent will be home bet Jia Jing Lu on Friday with the time yet to be announced.

The world No. 349 Lu is coming off an upset, stunning world No. 230 Ekaterina Reyngold of Russia, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, in the Last 16.

Should Eala advance to the semifinal, she will face the winner between Russian netter Elena Pridankina and Lulu Sun of New Zealand.

Eala is gunning for her second WTA title after winning the Guadalajara 125 Open in Mexico last 6 September.