Eala wallops Sawangkaew to barge into Birmingham Open semis
MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala is heading to the semifinals of the Birmingham Open after repeating against Southeast Asian Games finals opponent Mananchaya Sawangkaew, 6-3, 6-2, Saturday morning (Manila time).
The Filipina, ranked 37th in the world, continued to have a strong performance in her first grass season tournament of the year.
Eala needed just an hour and 21 minutes to secure the victory.
The pride of the Philippines jumped to a great start, going up 5-1 before the Thai tennister kept herself alive with two straight games, 3-5.
But Eala finished off the first set as she held her serve, 6-3.
She then trailed in the second set, falling behind 1-2, before she ran rampant and tied together five straight games for the win, 6-2.
Eala banked on a great service game this match, punching in 44 service points to her opponent’s 24.
The two had 27 receiving points won each.
Eala will now be taking on World No. 132 Rebeka Masarova in the semifinal of the WTA 125 tournament.
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