Eala breezes into quarterfinals

MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala barged into the quarterfinals of the elite Veneto Open with a 6-3, 6-3 win over home bet Giorgia Pedone late Thursday night in Italy.

On the heels of a big win against Carole Monnet of France in the opening round, the Filipina tennis ace didn’t skip a beat in another straight-sets romp for her first deep run since a final appearance in the French Open qualifiers last month. 

Albeit unseeded, Eala flashed her brilliance with three aces and only two errors against the WTA No. 307 to stay unscathed without a single set yielded in the $125,000-tilt.

Eala, who just turned 19, scored a 6-3, 7-5 win over WTA No. 197 Monnet in the Round of 32 two days ago.

Standing in Eala’s way for a Final Four ticket is WTA No. 91 and Veneto Open No. 4 seed Sara Errani of Italy, who’s 37 years old.

Eala came one win short of becoming the first Filipina to reach the French Open main draw but fell to Julia Riera of Argentina, 6-4, 6(3)-7, 4-6.