Eala assured of Nagoya bronze

Tennis sensation Alex Eala had some scary moments before delivering the killer blow to pull off a 7-5, 6-0 win over Joanna Garland of Chinese Taipei in the quarterfinals of the women’s singles event of the 20th Asian Games on Wednesday at the Higashiyama Park Tennis Center in Nagoya.

Contrary to what was expected, the world No. 18 struggled in the opening set but gained her groove in the second to wrap up the match in one hour and 49 minutes and assured herself of at least a bronze medal that matches her performance in the previous edition in Hangzhou in 2023.

Now, Eala will have a chance to shoot for a gold medal — and a spot in the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 -— when she battles world No. 85 Wang Xiyu of China on Thursday at 9 a.m. (Manila time) at the same venue.

Eala, however, admitted that getting rid of Garland wasn’t easy.

“I know all the matches here are tough. My match today was very tough with Joanna,” Eala, the world No. 18 who is coming off a very disappointing performance in the WTA 500 Singapore Open, said.

“She’s a great player, a great person, so I’m really happy that I won this match.”

Garland appeared poised to pull off an earthshaking upset as she took the opening set after moving ahead, 5-4. But the Filipina held serve to level the score before winning the next two games to seize the advantage.

The Filipina then took control in the second set, breaking Garland in the opening game before sweeping the next five to complete the victory.

Against Wang, Eala is not expected to have an easy time. For one, the 25-year-old Chinese will be marching with fire in her eyes after Eala swept her in the Round of 64 of the Italian Open in Rome last April, 6-4. 6-3.

Eala could also strengthen her bid for a double gold as she and Shaira Rivera are competing against China’s Jiang Xinyu and Yang Zhaoxuan in the women’s doubles event Round of 16 as of press time. IVAN SUING