Eala overwhelms Mei Yamaguchi at Jingshan Open, extends quarterfinal run

After strong campaigns in Mexico and Brazil, deep tournament runs have become routine for the Filipina tennis standout, underscored by her latest commanding win in China.

Carrying her dominance across continents, Alex Eala booked a spot in the WTA 125 Jingshan Open quarterfinals with a decisive 6-0, 6-3 victory over Japan’s Mei Yamaguchi at the Hubei Bank Tennis Center in China, Sept. 25.

The 20-year-old, the lone top-100 WTA player in the draw, posted a 63.9% success rate on service points won (23 of 36), while Yamaguchi managed just 36.1% (13 of 36).

Eala broke Yamaguchi’s serve three times to seize a scorching 5-0 lead in the opening set. Facing a break point at 30-40 in the sixth game, she saved it and closed out the 26-minute bagel.

Maintaining momentum with a 2-0 lead in the second set, Eala finally yielded a game as Yamaguchi got on the board at 2-1. After surviving two deuces and rallying from a 15-40 deficit, Eala stretched the gap to 4-1 with another break.

Yamaguchi answered by taking the next two games, earning her first service break and cutting the deficit to 4-3. But Eala steadied and swept the final two games to wrap up the match in one hour and 12 minutes.

Eala, chasing her second WTA title, next faces China’s Jia-Jing Lu, ranked No. 349, on Sept. 26.