MANILA, Philippines – Alex Eala closes in on her first WTA 250 title as she survived Greek veteran Maria Sakkari, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, in the 2026 Hong Kong Open semifinals on Saturday, November 7.
World No. 102 American Claire Liu now stands in the way of the world No. 17 Filipina superstar in the final, after her own 7-5, 6-4 semifinal sweep of Russian challenger Alexandra Shubladze.
Reeling from a 3-6 setback in the second set, Eala aimed to exorcise ghosts of meltdowns past with a blazing 3-0 start in the final frame, and kept a huge 4-1 advantage with the final within grasp.
The 31-year-old Sakkari, however, refused to go down without a fight as she staged her own clutch three-game rally to stage a 4-4 tie, before Eala stopped the bleeding in the ninth game, giving up only a single point to go up 5-4.
Perhaps running out of gas late, Sakkari failed to keep up with Eala’s final onslaught, only saving one match point in the end as the Filipina ace wrapped up another hard-earned three-set victory.
“I think the ability and conscious choice to stay there and be positive was a really big point of my match today and my mentality,” Eala said after the match.
Despite multiple brief rain delays that disrupted the match, Eala managed to maintain her rhythm when it mattered.
“I think I was just blank,” Eala said. “It was a lot of patience but a lot of focus gave me time to really focus in on the next point. I am really happy I managed to come out of that as a better player.”
Ahead of the final, Eala also aims to avenge an earlier upset loss, as Liu — then ranked world No. 305 — stunned the top-50 Filipina out of the 2025 Guangzhou Open first round in their only head-to-head meeting so far.
Regardless of result, the Hong Kong Open will be Eala’s final official event of the year as she soon heads home for a wind-down homecoming celebration at the sprawling Philippine Arena on December 8. – Rappler.com