Alexandra Eala and Wang Xinyu will meet for the first time on Saturday, with a place in the final on the line when the pair face off in the semifinals of the ASB Classic.

No 4 seed Eala booked her spot in the last four with a composed 6-3 6-2 quarterfinal win over Poland’s Magda Linette on Friday, continuing an assured run in Auckland that has been matched by her calm approach off the court.

The 20-year-old has been a big hit with the Auckland Filipino community which have been turning up in great numbers to see her play. It’s the same in most places for Eala as Filipino tennis fans embrace their first player ever from that country to make a splash on the world stage.

She has come to Auckland with her parents, Mike and Rizza, who travel with her regularly and she says having them here with her has helped her settle into the tournament.

“This is the first time all of us have been in New Zealand, so it’s nice,” Eala said.

“The atmosphere is great. Obviously, a big Filipino community. I like the place, it’s very calm, very clean.”

Despite the demands of reaching the semifinals of the ASB Classic, Eala has still found time to explore parts of Auckland.

“I’ve been to the harbour and one of the beaches with family friends by, I forgot the name, close by, like, 20 minutes from Sky City,” she said.

Eala’s even temperament is also reflected in her approach to competition, with emotional outbursts firmly off limits.

“Smashing a racquet is a big no no in my family,” she smiled. “And if that happened, you’d probably never see me on court again!”

Standing opposite Eala will be Chinese seventh seed Wang Xinyu, who reached the semifinals after her quarterfinal against Britain’s Francesca Jones ended in retirement while Wang was leading 6-4 4-3.

Wang said her strong start to the season has come without placing pressure on results, following a preseason focused on rebuilding after two injury-affected years.

“It wasn’t my goal to get the results in a tournament or whatever,” Wang said.

“During the preseason, it was just working hard and putting the pieces into the puzzle, like focusing on where I can improve as a player.”

That preparation has translated into confidence in Auckland, where Wang said she arrived feeling physically and mentally refreshed.

“I was very happy and confident coming into this season because of that,” she said.

“I’m feeling fresh and focused on court, I’m not thinking too much about results, and I like it this way.”

Saturday’s first semifinal, which starts at 5.30pm, will be the first meeting between Eala and Wang, setting up a fresh matchup as both players look to carry their early-season form into the business end of the tournament.

The second semifinal will be between Elina Svitolina and Iva Jovic. They will also be going up against each other for the first time.

“It’s going to be another challenge, she’s the rising star,” Svitolina said.

“We practiced together here before the tournament, so I know little bit about the way she plays. She knows little bit of me as well. So it’s going to be really interesting.

“It’s a semifinal of the tournament, so we’re going to enjoy that.”

 

Due to the withdrawal of doubles pair Caty McNally and Janice Tjen from the semifinals, Saturday’s session will now be:

 2pm Gates Open (as scheduled)

2:30pm – Matches begin on Centre Court

 

ATP Qualifiers:

(WC) Anton Shepp (NZL) vs (7) Jan-Lennard Struff (GER)

 

Not before 5:30pm – WTA Semi-Finals:

(4) Alexandra Eala (PHI) vs (7) Wang Xinyu (CHN)

(1) Elina Svitolina (UKR) vs (3) Iva Jovic (USA)