Top seed Alex Eala defeated Russia’s Alina Charaeva 6-2, 7-5 on Thursday to advance at the Birmingham Open. The Filipina overcame a three-game deficit in the second set.
Alex Eala showed composure to reach the quarterfinals of the Birmingham Open in the United Kingdom. She rallied from a 2-5 deficit in the second set to beat Alina Charaeva in one hour and 40 minutes. Eala had earlier beaten Australia’s Priscilla Hon 6-0, 6-2 in her opening match. The victory over Charaeva marked her first back-to-back wins since the Italian Open in May. She will face Thailand’s Mamanchaya Sawangkaew in the quarterfinals on Friday. The pair met in the Southeast Asian Games final last December, which Eala won. “I was definitely in a tough spot in the second set but I’m proud that I stayed in there … and ultimately gave myself another chance to do better tomorrow,” Eala said after the match.
