Filipina tennis standout Alex Eala punched her ticket to the quarterfinals of the Tokyo Open on Wednesday after staging a brilliant come-from-behind victory against Australia’s Talia Gibson, 4-6, 6-2, 6-0, in Japan.
Eala shook off a slow start and capitalized on aggressive baseline play and sharp serving to neutralize her opponent. While the 21-year-old held a psychological advantage from previous International Tennis Federation (ITF) encounters, Gibson provided fierce resistance in the opening frame.
The 22-year-old Australian secured a crucial break with a backhand winner in the eighth game to pull ahead 5-3. Although Eala immediately broke back, Gibson responded in kind to lock up the first set.
Shifting the momentum in the second set, Eala came out firing to win the first two games. Though Gibson managed to close the gap to 3-2, Eala held her nerve under pressure, fended off a break point, and took control of her service games to force a deciding set.
Riding an immense wave of momentum, Eala completely overwhelmed the Australian in the third set, racing to a commanding 5-0 lead to cap off a dominant eight-game winning streak.
Though Gibson fought valiantly to save a match point and pushed the final game to deuce, Eala closed out the contest, reflecting on the mindset that powered her turnaround:
”[T]he first set was difficult, and I had my chances; so I knew that if I kept my concentration I would have more chances [at winning],” Eala said.
With the victory, Eala advanced to the next round to face the winner of the match between third-seeded Russian player Diana Shnaider.