Eala makes Suzhou QF

Alex Eala pulled off a thrilling 7-6, 6-7, 7-5 win over Greet Minnen of Belgium to advance to the quarterfinals of the Suzhou Open on Wednesday at the Sungent International Tennis Center in Suzhou, China.

After splitting a pair of tiebreaks in the first two sets, the fourth-seeded Eala displayed impressive grace under pressure as she unloaded a strong performance in Game 11 of the third set for a 6-5 lead.

Minnen tried to force another tiebreak by saving two match points in the 12th game, but the 20-year-old Filipino tennis ace applied the finishing touches to prevail in a grueling three-hour and 18-minute duel.

It hasn’t been easy for Eala, seeded fourth in this Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) 125 tournament after coming off a 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 victory over world no. 124 Katarzyna Kawa of Poland in the Round of 32 last Tuesday.

The victory was the Rafael Nadal Academy graduate’s fourth consecutive trip to the quarterfinal after the Guadalajara 125 Open in Mexico, the Sao Paulo Open in Brazil and the Jingshan Tennis Open in China.

But getting to the Last Eight wasn’t easy.

After tying with one set apiece, both Eala and Minnen held serve in the third set and went back-and-forth as they tied at 5-5.

Sensing victory in the third set, Eala won the next two games and broke the Belgian’s serve to seal the victory.

Eala will take a breather on Thursday before going up against sixth seed Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland in the quarterfinals on Friday.