Alex Eala booked her place in the quarterfinals of the 2025 São Paulo Open in Brazil after defeating Argentina’s Julia Riera, 6-1, 6-4, in their Round of 16 clash.

This was the pair’s third career meeting and second encounter on hard courts.

Riera previously edged Eala in the 2024 French Open qualifiers, 4-6, 7-6, 6-4, before the Filipina bounced back later that year with a 6-3, 6-1 victory at the ITF W100 Cary.

Riera, currently ranked No. 188 in the WTA with an 18-17 win-loss record in 2025, struggled to find consistency early on as Eala immediately set the tone, opening the match with a sharp angle backhand winner and quickly breaking serve to build a 2-0 lead after Riera’s third double fault of the game.

Eala continued to punish short and loopy balls, racing to a 4-0 advantage.

Though Riera briefly steadied to claim a game at 4-1 to capitalize on three double faults from Eala, the Filipina regrouped and closed out the first set, 6-1.

In the second set, the 20-year-old tennis star Eala showcased her composure by erasing two break points in the opening game, firing back-to-back return winners on Riera’s second serve for a 1-0 edge.

While Riera managed to hold for 2-1, Eala’s aggressive play carried her to a 5-3 lead highlighted by powerful groundstrokes into the corners and deft drop volleys.

Riera saved two match points with an ace and a strong serve-and-volley effort, trimming the deficit to 5-4.

But Eala held firm, serving out the match 6-4 to seal the straight-sets victory.

The Filipina now turns her attention to the quarterfinals, where she will face Indonesia’s Janice Tjen, who is enjoying a career-high WTA ranking of No. 130.

Tjen owns an impressive 59-11 record this season and has been in dominant form, dismantling Martina Okalova (WTA No. 464) 6-1, 6-0 in the Round of 16, after upsetting seventh seed Leolia Jeanjean (WTA No. 95) 6-2, 6-3 in the Round of 32. (ABS-CBN News)