Alex Eala pulled off another upset in her career, beating world No. Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, 7-5, 6-4, in the Round of 16 of the Berlin Tennis Open at the Rot-Weiss Tennis Club in Germany on Friday (Manila time).
Eala, 21, needed 92 minutes as she claimed another scalp within the top 10 of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings after beating the likes of Iga Swiatek of Poland, Jasmine Paolini of Italy and Coco Gauff of the United States.
The 27-year-old Rybakina is the second No. 2 tennis player Eala defeated since Swiatek in the quarterfinal of the Miami Open last year.
“I am a little foggy right now. I think, you know, I'm still shaking and I was shaking on match point too. But no, I'm really happy with today, of course. It could have gone either way,” Eala said in a post-match interview.
The Rafael Nadal Academy alumna will next face world No. 8 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine on Friday at 11:30 p.m. at the same venue.