Alex Eala reacts after reaching Hong Kong Open final with Maria Sakkari win
Alex Eala has spoken after her three-set win over Maria Sakkari at the 2026 Hong Kong Open saw her reach the third WTA Tour final of her career.
No 2 seed Eala downed fourth seed Sakkari 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 in the semi-finals at the hard-court WTA 250 event in Hong Kong on Saturday.
Eala had a mammoth 22 break points on Sakkari’s serve and was able to convert on five occasions — three times in the first set and twice in the decider.
The world No 17 led 4-1 in the third set before Sakkari battled back to 4-4, but she earned the decisive break when her Greek opponent served to stay in the match at 4-5.
The 21-year-old Filipina will face 102nd-ranked Claire Liu in the Hong Kong final on Sunday as she aims to win her second WTA Tour title.
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Here is everything Eala said in her on-court interview after defeating Sakkari.
Q. Congratulations Alex, what a fantastic performance, what a fantastic match. Now, you were up 4-1 in the decider, but Maria sort of turned things around and put you under some pressure. What did you do to handle that pressure, keep your composure and finish things off so strongly?
Eala: Yeah, I think that in that moment she really stepped up and brought what she needed to bring to come back, and so I tried every point to stay there and step up myself.
Q. There was quite a bit of stop starting with the rain delays. What was going through your mind?
Eala: I think just, it was just blank, I think. It was a lot of patience, but a lot, a lot, a lot of focus gave me time to really focus in on the next points, but I’m really happy that I was able to to come out of that a better player.
Q. Tomorrow will be your second tour final this season. What lessons are you going to take from Washington to put your advantage tomorrow?
Eala: Yeah, I think, you know, the ability to, and the conscious choice to, stay there and be positive was a really big point of my match today, and my mentality. So, bring that from the whole, I guess not just Washington, but everything that I’ve learned this year to try to cap it off with a good match, win or lose. I’m really happy, so gonna try to be positive going into the final.
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