ALEX Eala survived a war of attrition against dangerous Belgian Greet Minnen yesterday afternoon, pulling off a gritty 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (3-7), 7-5 decision to enter the quarterfinals of the Suzuhou Open WTA 125 in Suzhou, China.
In a battle of skills and wills from the baseline in the deciding third set, Minnen was the first to blink, suffering the only service break in the 12th game in surrendering the marathon match after three hours and 18 minutes of riveting play at the Sungent International Tennis Center.
Going for her second match point, Eala, seeded fourth, yelled in relief while pumping her fist when her foe hit a long backhand to book a spot in the quarters against Swiss Viktorija Golubic, who routed Czech Linda Fruhirtova 6-2, 6-0 in their own quarterfinal clash.
It was the second straight time in two days that the pretty Filipina No. 4 seed was extended to a third set after fashioning a 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 decision over Poland’s Katarzyna Wawa 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 in the opening round.
The second set between the two was like a mirror image in reverse for Eala as Minnen, mixing her shots skillfully, emerged triumphant in the tie-break at 7-3 after reeling off three straight points to send the match to a deciding third.
Neither player would give an inch in the final set at first, but Minnen finally showed signs of fatigue as the match dragged on, when she had to fight through two deuces to hold serve in the eighth game.
The prolonged time on the court slowly but surely turned in Eala’s favor as she had no difficulty holding serve, the last in the 11th game at 40-30 to go up at 6-5.
Looking to tie the set and extend the match to a tiebreaker, the next one began ominously for Minnen, who double-faulted to give her foe a 0-15 edge and was still ahead 40-30 before Eala scored two straight points, the last on a nifty drop shot to gain the advantage for match point.
The Belgian managed to save a match point as her rival hit a long backhand, only to see her rival countering with a crackling forehand passing shot before finally caving in with a wide backhand on the next point.
Although Minnen had six more aces than Eala’s three, her five double faults against one for her opponent proved to be the critical factor in the closely-fought match.
