Eala advances to semifinal round in Hong Kong

MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala survived another high intensity match the 2026 Hong Kong Open, this time defeating Antonia Ruzic of Croatia, 7-6 (7), 7-5, to march into the semifinal round at the Victoria Park Tennis Stadium on Friday evening. It took Eala, ranked 17th in the world, 80 minutes and four set points to finally close out the opening set against Ruzic, ranked 81st in the world. The match carried a sense of déjà vu for spectators, recalling Eala’s 6-4, 7-6 (7) win over Tereza Valentova on Thursday where the second set alone lasted one hour and 32 minutes. Friday's match, however, was suspended by rain for nearly 30 minutes with Eala in the upper hand, 4-3. Upon resumption, Ruzic seized the momentum and took a 5-4 advantage. Eala, however, recovered her bearing and reeled off back-to-back wins to move ahead at 6-5. The Filipina held a 40-love advantage before the Croatian scored back-to-back points, 40-30, one point away from erasing Eala’s lead. But Ruzic committed an attack error that gave Eala the victory, 7-5, ending the second set in 70 minutes. “It was a rollercoaster for sure, an incredible battle. I don’t know what inspires me to dig deeper. I am blessed to play another round here,” Eala...