After beating Venus Williams in a doubles game, WTA No. 50 Alex Eala is not showing any signs of slowing down.

Eala delivered a statement performance in round 16 of the ABS Classic.

The 20-year-old dismantled Croatia’s Petra Marčinko on Center Court to book her place in the quarterfinals.

Eala took full control and wrapped it up with a 6-0. She converted 6 break points in the starting 7 games of the match. Moreover, she only needed a little over an hour, 63 minutes to be exact to confirm her berth in the quarterfinal. The second set went by as quickly as the first, barely allowing the world no 82 to find her footing.

“I’m so happy with how I was able to compete and handle the different situations on court,” Eala said afterward. “Every start of the year comes differently: new year, new story, and that goes for everybody.”

Eyes on the next

The victory marked Eala’s fourth career WTA quarterfinal and her first in Auckland. Ranked No. 53 in the world, Eala has become increasingly comfortable throughout her career.

Her win against Marčinko came after a comeback against Donna Vekic. After losing the first set 4-6, Eala rallied to win to sets 6-4 back-to-back.

She will next face fifth seed Magda Linette in the quarterfinals, an opponent who has beaten her twice before. Do you think she can close it out to reach the semis?

Written by

Fatema Kapasi

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar