Alex Eala clawed back with a spirited display to trounce Maria Sakkari 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 in a rain-curtailed Hong Kong Open semifinal encounter on Saturday to punch her ticket to her second final of the season at the WTA Tour level. The monumental win carried a special reward for the 21-year-old Filipina that Sunday’s result cannot take away.
When the tour publishes its next rankings update, Eala is projected to climb to No. 15, a career high and a position no player from her country has reached before. Eala passed Naomi Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam champion earlier in the tournament, who holds 2,315 points. Subsequently, the former World No. 1 will drop provisionally to No. 17.
