Alex Eala is headed to the quarterfinals of the Sozhou WTA 125, but not before surviving a three-set knife fight against Belgium’s Greet Minnen—a seasoned bruiser with a cannon for a serve and just enough wildness to make things interesting.
In a match that felt less like a tennis game and more like a late-round prizefight, the 20-year-old Filipina dug deep to edge Minnen, 7-6, 6-7, 7-5, in over three hours of toe-to-toe shotmaking and strategic grit.
Eala, seeded fourth in the tournament, had her hands full with the 28-year-old Belgian, who uncorked 9 aces and backed them up with a forehand that could take paint off the lines. By comparison, Eala managed just 3 aces. but what the Filipina lacked in power, she made up for in poise.
Minnen’s serve was thunderous, yes, but also temperamental. She double-faulted five times, including a critical one late in the third, while Eala kept it tidier with just a single misfire.
And when it mattered most, the Filipina zeroed in on Minnen’s suspect backhand—especially in the final set, where she repeatedly worked the ball to the Belgian’s left, chipping away until cracks showed.
For the second straight match, Eala squeezed past by the thinnest of margins—outscoring the world No. 106 by a mere 95–93 across the stat sheet.
Now ranked 56th in the world, Eala is showing signs of evolution—not just in her shot selection, but in the mental trenches. The Sozhou heat has been less about the weather and more about the furnace of close contests, and Eala’s learning how to stay upright when the rallies get long and the air gets thin.
Up next: World No. 70 Viktorija Golubic in Friday’s quarterfinals—a crafty 32-year-old Swiss who once danced into the Wimbledon quarterfinals and reached the third round of the Australian Open just last year. She won’t overpower Eala, but she might outfox her—and after the week Eala has had, that just might be the next test.
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