Dangerous Czech blocking Eala’s path

Alex Eala seeks to sustain her form when she faces world No. 85 Tereza Valentova of the Czech Republic in the Round of 16 of the Hong Kong Tennis Open on Thursday.

The match is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. (Manila time) with the 21-year-old Filipina chasing a second WTA title in her final tournament of the season against a very dangerous Czech foe.

In fact, the 19-year-old Valentova, who reached the third round of the previous Australian Open, had beaten Eala twice in the Japan Women’s Open last year and the Qatar Open last February.

Eala is suffering a slump in his recent tournaments with early exits in the Singapore Open, Wuhan Open, Ningbo Open, and Pan Pacific Open while failing to win the gold medals in the singles and doubles event of the 20th Asian Games. However, the Filipina bounced back with a 6-4, 6-3 triumph over lucky loser Emerson Jones of Australia, who replaced injured world No. 59 Alycia Parks of the United States in the opening round last Tuesday.

Eala, now enjoying his best ranking of No. 17, said the crowd support helped her through a challenging match after the late change of opponent.

“A lot of energy and motivation from the crowd. Playing in front of them was great, and it was also a good start to my last tournament here,” said Eala, who is playing in her home away from home as Hong Kong is just mere three hours away from Manila where thousands of Filipino migrant workers and expatriates are staying.

She, however, admitted that she is not used to facing a new opponent at the very last minute but said the experience reinforced the need to stay prepared.