By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Negrense Alexandra Eala advanced to the quarterfinals of the Philippine Women’s Open, becoming the last remaining Filipino player in the WTA 125 tournament at the Felicisimo Ampon Tennis Center in Manila.

The 20-year-old World’s No. 49 delivered a dominant performance against Japan’s Sakatsume Himeno, cruising to a 6-4, 6-0 victory to move into the Final 8.

The rest of the local field exited early, as Filipino players struggled to match the level of their international counterparts in both singles and doubles action.

Kaye Emana of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) was eliminated in the opening round after a 6-1, 6-0 loss to Russian Tatiana Prozorova, while National University’s (NU) Elizabeth Abarquez suffered a 6-0, 6-0 defeat at the hands of Japan’s Mai Hontama.

Teenager Tennielle Madis also bowed out in the first round, falling 6-4, 6-0 to Thailand’s Mananchaya Sawangkaew.

In doubles play, first-round losses were recorded by the NU pairing of Abarquez and Rovie Baulete, the UST tandem of Emana and Justine Maneja, De La Salle University’s Angeline Alcala and University of the Philippines’ Joanna Peña, as well as the young duo of Madis and Steffi Aludo.

Despite the results, Eala welcomed the presence of more Filipinas in a WTA-level event, saying the experience gained was invaluable for players competing at this stage of their careers.

“I’m super proud. The fact that we’re in the draw, they showed up, they gave their best. It’s really hard the first time competing at this level,” said Eala, the 20-year-old Filipina ranked 49th in the world.

“But just the experience that you gain from being in these tournaments and playing these people is something money can’t buy. So I’m very happy for that, very proud of our united experience,” she added./ASC, WDJ