Alex Eala secures new career-high in WTA Rankings with next opponent confirmed at SP Open
Alex Eala has taken her unbeaten run to seven matches after claiming another comfortable two-set victory in the second round of the SP Open in Brazil.
Just days after winning her first WTA singles at the second-tier Guadalajara 125 Open, Eala opened her campaign with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Yasmine Mansouri and she has now followed it up with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Julia Riera to reach the quarter-final.
It is the third time this season that the 20-year-old has made it to the last four of a WTA Tour-level tournament with her other runs coming at the Eastbourne Open when she finished runner-up to Maya Joint in June while in March she reached the semi-final of the Miami Open on the back of beating the likes of Iga Swiatek, Madison Keys and Jelena Ostapenko.
The stay in Sao Paolo has been good for the rising star as she stated afterwards: “I said the other day that the Brazilians are super hospitable. That’s one thing I think you have in common with the Philippines, so I’m feeling at home. I loved the atmosphere tonight.”
WTA Rankings Breakthrough
Eala, seeded third at the SP Open, started the tournament at No 61 in the WTA Rankings, but her latest win has seen her jump six places to No 55 in the Live Rankings – one place above her previous high that she achieved after her run to the Eastbourne final.
Another win at the WTA 250 event will see her on the cusp of a top 50 breakthrough, but she faces a difficult quarter-final clash against Janice Tjen.
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Eala and Tjen both enjoyed memorable moments at the recent US Open as the former became the first player from the Philippines to win a singles main draw match at a Grand Slam with her first-round win over 14th seed Clara Tauson.
Tjen, meanwhile, upset 24th seed Veronika Kudermetova in her opener to become the first Indonesian in two decades to win a main draw singles match at a major.
Both went on to lose in the second round, which paved the way for Eala to sign up for the Guadalajara event, which she ended up winning the title.
Tjen is at No 130 in the official rankings, but her 6-1, 6-0 win over Martina Okalova has seen her jump seven places to a new high of No 123.
The draw will certainly get tougher for whoever wins the quarter-final clash, as they will take on either second seed Solana Sierra or sixth seed Francisca Jones in the semi-final.
