Alex Eala repeats breezy win vs Thai rival to reach Birmingham Open semis

MANILA, Philippines – Not much has changed since Alex Eala beat Mananchaya Sawangkaew to capture the gold medal in the Southeast Asian Games in Thailand in December. 

Over five months after, Eala once again demolished her Thai rival, posting a dominant 6-3, 6-2 win to advance to the semifinals of the Birmingham Open in the United Kingdom on Friday, June 5 (Saturday, June 6, Manila time). 

The victory proved almost identical to the 6-2, 6-1 win Eala pulled off against Sawangkaew in the SEA Games women’s singles final on the way to becoming the first Filipina to win the event since 1999. 

Riding on a four-match winning streak after going through the qualifiers, Sawangkaew showed some resistance early in the second set as she grabbed a 2-1 lead before Eala lived up to her billing as the tournament’s top seed.

Eala, who is ranked 136 spots higher at No. 37, won five straight games — breaking Sawangkaew twice — to wrap up the match in 1 hour and 21 minutes.

With the victory, Eala tied her head-to-head record against Sawangkaew on the WTA Tour at 1-1, redeeming herself from a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 loss in their first encounter in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Takasaki Open in Japan. 

Up next for Eala is Switzerland’s world No. 132 Rebeka Masarova on Saturday, June 6.

It marks Eala’s first final four appearance in a WTA 125 tournament since she crashed out of the semifinals of the Jingshan Tennis Open in China in September. 

Eala is eyeing her second WTA 125 crown to add to the Guadalajara Open title she won in Mexico, also in September. – Rappler.com