Historical past beckons for Filipina tennis ace Alex Eala as she shoots for her breakthrough WTA crown in the Guadalajara 125 Open finals in opposition to Hungary’s Panna Udvardy set early Sunday in Mexico.
The second-seeded Eala is getting ready to her maiden professional title after pulling off a convincing 6-2, 6-3 victory over Kayla Day within the semifinals, claiming simply her second WTA finals look.
With the victory, the world no. 75 Eala will now try and make historical past as the primary Filipina to seize a WTA title.
Nonetheless, the street to the crown received’t be a stroll within the park for Eala, even when she holds the sting on paper over Udvardy.
The 26-year-old Udvardy has additionally been spectacular within the event thus far, beating Jessica Hinojosa Gomez within the Spherical of 32 with a 6-3, 6-2 victory earlier than hammering out a 7-6, 6-2 victory over Nikola Bartunkova within the subsequent section.
Udvardy then outlasted fourth-seeded Francesca Jones within the quarterfinals, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, and despatched Maria Kozyreva dwelling throughout their semifinals bout, 6-3, 6-4, to rearrange a finals date with the Philippine wager.
The 20-year-old Eala has additionally been distinctive within the contest, which got here after her historic US Open run.
She opened her marketing campaign with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Arianne Hartono earlier than escaping Varvara Lepchenko in a 6(3)-7, 7-6(3), 6-3 win throughout their rain-delayed Spherical of 16 match.
Eala then constructed on that momentum and ousted Nicole Fossa Huergo and Day within the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively.
Eala and Udvardy had met as soon as earlier than with the Hungarian besting the Pinay star with a 7-6, 6-4 triumph during their Round of 16 clash on the Oeiras Women Open final April.
However Eala’s upcoming finals conflict isn’t nearly redemption—it’s additionally a golden likelihood to carve historical past for Philippine tennis.
This might be Eala’s second shot at WTA title after her finals journey on the Eastbourne Open final June, the place her gallant stand fell brief after bowing to Maya Joint within the championship spherical.
—JMB, GMA Built-in Information
