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Tennis: Eala stuns Aussie No. 1 seed Hon to reach W25 Roehampton semis

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Rosy Mina

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Alex Eala of the Philippines at the W60 Madrid tournament in Spain. Photo courtesy of Michael Eala on Instagram" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/sports/06/18/alex-eala-ig-6182022.jpg"/><figcaption>Alex Eala of the Philippines at the W60 Madrid tournament in Spain. <em>Photo courtesy of Michael Eala on Instagram</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>Sixth-seeded Alex Eala reached her third semifinal of the season at the W25 Roehampton in Great Britain with a 6-2, 6-4 upset of No. 1 seed Priscilla Hon of Australia on Friday.</p><p>The Filipino’s other semifinal results in 2023 were achieved in Spain at the W100 Vitoria-Gasteiz last month and W25 Yecla, where the 18-year-old won her third ITF singles title in June. </p><p>In the quarterfinal match on Court 4 of the National Tennis Centre, WTA World No. 250 Eala gained the early lead via a love service hold, 2-0.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/08/11/23/eala-to-face-top-seed-in-w25-roehampton-quarterfinals">Tennis: Eala to face top seed in W25 Roehampton quarterfinals</a></li></ul><p>After the 201st-ranked Hon leveled the score, Eala broke back and held serve to love again to be at 4-2.</p><p>The three-time junior grand slam champion from the Philippines broke in the seventh game due to a Hon double fault, and went on to serve for the first set at 5-2.</p><p>She earned two set points after firing an ace, and claimed the opening set in 31 minutes, 6-2.</p><p>In the second set, Eala advanced to 2-0 and extended her lead to 4-1 by converting her third break point in the fifth game via a backhand crosscourt passing shot.</p><p>She notched her fourth love service hold of the match to be at 5-1 with a forehand drop volley winner.</p><p>The 25-year-old Hon, who has eight ITF singles championships, held serve then got three break points in the eighth game after Eala committed her lone double fault while serving for the match.</p><p>The Australian broke with a backhand approach shot to trail at 3-5, and the former World No. 118 improved to 4-5 after Eala netted a service return.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/08/10/23/tennis-eala-begins-w25-roehampton-with-back-to-back-wins">Tennis: Eala begins W25 Roehampton with back-to-back wins</a></li></ul><p>Eala served for the victory for the second time, with the left-hander converting her first of two match points with a sizzling forehand winner, 6-4. </p><p>In the semifinals on Saturday, Eala will face third seed and World No. 208 Arianne Hartono of the Netherlands, who defeated Georgian qualifier Mariam Bolkvadze in the quarters, 6-3, 2-6, 6-3.</p><p>The Filipino No. 6 seed kicked off her W25 Roehampton run with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Australian qualifier and World No. 781 Gabriella Da Silva Fick.</p><p>In the second round, she eked out a hard-fought win over her doubles partner, World No. 289 Destanee Aiava of Australia, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.</p><p>Meanwhile, in the doubles event, Eala and Aiava ousted French Julie Belgraver and British Ella McDonald in the first round, 7-5, 6-2, then lost to Australian top seeds Talia Gibson and Petra Hule in the quarterfinals, 1-6, 5-7.</p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></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=2227236" 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>

Sixth-seeded Alex Eala reached her third semifinal of the season at the W25 Roehampton in Great Britain with a 6-2, 6-4 upset of No. 1 seed Priscilla Hon of Australia on Friday.