Alex Eala faces yet another great test as she battles world No. 21 Victoria Mboko of Canada in the Round of 16 of the Hong Kong Tennis Open on Thursday at the Victoria Park.

Action starts at 6:30 p.m. with the 20-year-old Eala all pumped up, eager to deliver an upset of the reigning Canadian Open champion.

Eala will be coming in oozing with confidence after pulling off a 6-4, 2-1 (ret) win over world No. 79 Katie Boulter of Great Britain, who withdrew in the halfway mark of the second set on Tuesday night.

Despite the win, Eala hopes Boulter the best of luck.

“I’m a little out of words, you know I think this time of the year is a tough moment for a lot of players physically and mentally, it being the end of the season,” said Eala, who drew a lot of support from Hong Kong-based Filipinos in this Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) 250 event.

“I hope that Katie can take this time to recover and just look back at her season proudly.”

Eala will have to be at her best as she goes up against the 26-year-old Mboko.

Like her, Mboko also gained the reputation as a giant-killer as she defeated multiple-time Grand Slam champion and former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka of Japan, 2-6, 6-4, 61, last August to secure her maiden WTA title.

Since that triumph, Mboko has yet to replicate her magical run after a string of early exits save for her Japan Open campaign last Friday where she reached the quarterfinal before getting swept by Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, 6-3, 7-6.

A win by Eala will not only put her a step closer to the title but also have her finally enter the top 50 of the WTA rankings.