Alex Eala advances to the semifinal of the Birmingham Open after a 6-3, 6-2 win over Mananchaya Sawangkaew of Thailand, 6-3, 7-2, in the Birmingham Open in England on Saturday.
Eala, 21, needed one hour and 21 minutes as she re-asserted her mastery over Sawangkaew in a rematch from the 33rd Southeast Asian Games in Bangkok last December.
Eala will next face Rebeka Masarova of Switzerland on Saturday at 6 p.m. (Manila time)
The Rafael Nadal Academy graduate will face either Nikola Bartunkova of the Czech Republic or Ashlyn Krueger of the United States should she reach the cjampionship round.
