This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\tAlex Eala survives one of her longest matches of the year as she outlasts Belgium’s Greet Minnen to reach the quarterfinals of the WTA 125 Suzhou Open in China\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n
MANILA, Philippines \u2013 Alex Eala needed every ounce of her strength to reach the quarterfinals for the fourth straight tournament.<\/p>\n
Eala stayed alive in the WTA 125 Suzhou Open in China after a grueling 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 7-5 win over Belgium\u2019s Greet Minnen in the round of 16 on Wednesday, October 1.<\/p>\n
Digging deep in a marathon match that took 3 hours and 18 minutes to finish, the Filipina outlasted the world No. 106 Minnen to preserve her last-eight streak after reaching at least the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open in Mexico, Sao Paulo Open in Brazil, and Jingshan Tennis Open in China.<\/p>\n
The match could not have been any tighter as Eala and Minnen split the first two sets that each lasted at least an hour following a pair of tiebreaks.<\/p>\n
Even in the deciding set, the two held serve in each of the 11 games, which saw world No. 58 Eala grab a slim 6-5 lead.<\/p>\n
The turning point came in the following game as Eala broke Minnen for the first time in the third set, with the Belgian unable to force another tiebreak despite leading 40-30.<\/p>\n
Minnen saved two break points, but she committed back-to-back unforced errors that allowed Eala to advance, the Filipina heaving a huge sigh of relief and letting out a huge roar after surviving one of her longest matches of the year. <\/p>\n
Eala will next face sixth seed Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland, who reached the quarterfinals in contrasting fashion after a swift 6-2, 6-0 win over Czech Republic\u2019s Linda Fruhvirtova. <\/p>\n
Seeded fourth, Eala is shooting for her second WTA 125 title after her breakthrough triumph<\/a> in the Guadalajara Open.<\/p>\n