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Tennis: Alex Eala enters quarterfinals of W40 Palma del Rio in Spain

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Rosy Mina

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Alex Eala at the W40 Palma del Rio in Spain. Open Generali on Instagram" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/sports/06/30/eala-06302023.jpg"/><figcaption>Alex Eala at the W40 Palma del Rio in Spain. Open Generali on Instagram</figcaption></figure></div>No. 6 seed Alex Eala of the Philippines reached her fourth quarterfinal of the season at the W40 Palma del Rio in Spain with a 6-3, 6-1 victory on Thursday over fellow teenager Talia Gibson of Australia.The 18-year-old Filipino and 19-year-old Australian battled it out for one hour and 10 minutes on the outdoor hard court of Asociación de Tenistas Palmeños - Polideportivo.Eala, the World No. 261 on the WTA Rankings, earned three break points in the third game after Gibson committed a double fault.The Rafa Nadal Academy graduate and defending US Open Juniors singles titlist broke serve to love for a 3-0 lead.WTA No. 377 Gibson replied with a love service break followed by a service hold at deuce to trail at 2-3.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/06/27/23/tennis-eala-claims-opener-at-w40-palma-del-rio">Tennis: Alex Eala claims opener at W40 Palma del Rio in Spain</a></li></ul>Eala advanced to 5-2 after holding serve to love then breaking serve on her first of two break points in the seventh game.After Gibson broke back, Eala served for the set at 5-3 and gained two set points.Eala, who posted a 6-3, 6-2 ouster of 16-year-old wildcard Lorena Solar Donoso of Spain in the opening round, took the first set, 6-3, on her second set point.The Filipino and Australian, who each have three ITF women’s singles championships, carried on in the second set which Eala dominated with a 5-0 edge.Eala broke for 2-0 courtesy of a Gibson double fault, overcame two deuces for 3-0, and held serve from 0-30 to be at 5-0.Gibson finally got on the scoreboard after holding serve at deuce, but it was too late as Eala went on to serve for the match at 5-1.After yielding her first match point due to a double fault, Eala claimed the win on her second opportunity, 6-1, to arrange a quarterfinal clash with WTA No. 243 and third seed Valeria Savinykh of Russia.The 32-year-old quarterfinalist is a nine-time ITF women’s singles winner and former World No. 99.The W40 Palma del Rio or Open Generali Ciudad de Palma del Río, which offers $40,000 in prize money, has been scheduling matches late in the evening. Eala’s matches on Monday and Thursday were held at 10 p.m., and the two-time junior grand slam doubles winner commented on this in a video interview hosted by the tournament.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/02/03/23/alex-eala-thankful-for-new-itf-grand-slam-player-grant">Alex Eala blessed to receive ITF grand slam player grant anew</a></li></ul>“I loved the atmosphere,” Eala said after her first-round triumph. “I think it’s not all the time that I get to play in the night.”Last year, Eala competed for the first time at the W25 Palma del Rio where she was ousted in the singles second round by No. 2 seed Jessika Ponchet of France.Eala had a better finish in the doubles draw with Spaniard Marina Bassols Ribera as the No. 4 seeds posted a semifinal finish against top seeds and eventual winners Savinykh and Fanni Stollar of Hungary.<div>RELATED VIDEO</div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2453024" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

No. 6 seed Alex Eala of the Philippines reached her fourth quarterfinal of the season at the W40 Palma del Rio in Spain with a 6-3, 6-1 victory on Thursday over fellow teenager Talia Gibson of Australia.