Few players have enjoyed a stronger stretch on the WTA Tour lately than Alexandra Eala. The Filipino star continued her surge Wednesday with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Julia Riera in 1 hour and 17 minutes to reach the quarterfinals in São Paulo.
São Paulo: Scores | Draws | Order of play
It marks Eala’s third quarterfinal of the season, coming on the heels of her WTA 125 title in Guadalajara and a first-round upset of Clara Tauson at the US Open in recent weeks.
Next, she’ll face Indonesia’s top-ranked player, Janice Tjen, who dropped just one game in a 6-1, 6-0 rout of Martina Okalova earlier in the day.
Comfort and control for Eala in São Paulo
Eala has looked at ease throughout the tournament.
“I said the other day that the Brazilians are super hospitable,” Eala said after the match. “That’s one thing I think you have in common with the Philippines, so I’m feeling at home. I loved the atmosphere tonight.”
She fed off the energy, winning the first four games of the match and converting all three break points to take the opening set in just over 30 minutes.
The second set was more competitive. Eala broke in the first game, but Riera responded immediately. Later, Riera saved four match points before the No. 3 seed finally closed out the win.
Eala now holds a 2-0 career record against Riera.
Through two matches in Brazil, Eala has spent less than 2 1⁄2 hours on court, including a 70-minute victory over Yasmine Mansouri in the first round.
Tjen proves first-round win was no fluke
If there were any doubts about Tjen’s ability to follow up her upset of Leolia Jeanjean, she silenced them with a commanding win over Okalova.
After serving up a first-set breadstick, Tjen delivered a second-set bagel in a match that lasted just 52 minutes.
She faced only one break point while forcing 12 of her own, converting six. Despite landing just over 42% of her first serves, she won nearly 86% of those points.
It was the first WTA level-meeting between Tjen and Okalova, with Tjen taking the edge in their head-to-head.
With the win, Tjen becomes the first Indonesian woman to reach a WTA quarterfinal since Angelique Widjaja in Bali in 2004.
Eala, Tjen set for first career clash
After cruising through their early rounds, Eala and Tjen now face a tougher test in each other.
It will be their first career meeting at pro level. They met three times as juniors in 2018-19, with Eala winning twice.
Eala is aiming for her third WTA semifinal of the season. Tjen, competing in just her second WTA-level tournament, is seeking her first.