Alex Eala outlasts Maria Sakkari to clinch Hong Kong Tennis Open finals berth - GMA Network

Alexandra 'Alex' Eala battled through multiple rain delays and a second-set stumble to outlast Greece's Maria Sakkari, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 in a hard-fought Hong Kong Open semifinal clash on Saturday.

With the victory over the world No. 30, the Filipina star booked her place in the championship round for the first time in the Asian Swing and will make one final push for a title this season when she faces American Claire Liu on Sunday.

Eala had to dig deep to pull off a victory that was anything but straightforward.

The 21-year-old Eala raced to an early 3-1 lead in the opening set, but Sakkari fought back by winning four of the next five games to take a 5-4 advantage in match that saw multiple delays brought by inclement weather.

The Filipina, however, responded by sweeping the next three games to take the set, capping her comeback with a dominant 12th game where she fired a 151-km/h ace before forcing Sakkari into two consecutive errors to close it out.

Sakkari quickly cruised to a 3-0 lead after closing the third game with an ace to cap a comeback from 0-30 down. Eala, however, would take three of the next five games, but Sakkari found ways to finish it off in the ninth game to drag Eala to a Set 3.

Eala comfortably seized a 3-0 lead in the final frame before taking a 4-1 cushion, but Sakkari once again fought back by stunning Eala in the next three games to force a 4-all deadlock.

Eala regrouped in the last two games, forcing Sakkari to a return error to close out Game 9 before the Greek star committed four infractions in Game 10 as Eala finished it off to advance to the finals for the first time since her title run at the Mubadala DC Open last August.