A Deciding Set That Turned Twice
Alexandra Eala secured her place in the Hong Kong Open final by defeating Maria Sakkari 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 on Saturday, converting her second match point after the Greek player had saved the first. The 21-year-old Filipino had led 4-1 in the third set before Sakkari won three straight games, holding, breaking and holding to level at 4-4. Eala then broke once more at 5-4 to close out the match.[S1][S2][S3][S4][S5][S7][S8]
Sakkari's serving told two stories. She struck 12 aces against Eala's two and rescued 17 of the 22 break points she confronted, yet she also double-faulted six times to her opponent's one. Eala, who put 79 percent of her first serves into play, converted five break points, and that greater consistency on serve produced the breaks that decided the contest.[S1]
The opening set followed a similar pattern of traded breaks, with Eala finally pulling ahead by breaking at 5-5 and then serving out the set on her first set point.[S1]
A Week of Grinding Wins
Eala began her tournament with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Alycia Parks of the United States, then eliminated Tereza Valentova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 7-6 (7) in the round of 16. Her quarterfinal against Croatia's Antonia Ruzic lasted two and a half hours and ended 7-6 (7), 7-5. Reflecting on that match, Eala described it as a rollercoaster and an incredible battle.[S1]
In the other semifinal, Claire Liu defeated qualifier Alexandra Shubladze 7-5, 6-4 to book her own place in the title match. Liu holds the edge in her head-to-head with Eala, having won their only prior encounter in Guangzhou in 2025.[S1]
Sakkari, a former World No. 3, had not appeared in a final since Indian Wells in 2024. Her route to the last four included wins over Carol Young Suh Lee, Maya Joint and Aliaksandra Sasnovich.[S1]
