Alex Eala faces Greek star Maria Sakkari in Hong Kong Tennis Open semis

Alexandra 'Alex' Eala will look to punch her ticket to the finals in her last tournament of the year as she locks horns with Greece's Maria Sakkari in the Hong Kong Tennis Open semifinals on Saturday.

The 21-year-old Filipina star and the former world No. 3 are set for their first-ever meeting on the WTA Tour, with a place in the championship match at stake. Their showdown is scheduled at around 4 p.m. at Centre Court.

Eala has been giving it her all in her season finale, fending off multiple fightbacks from Australia's Emerson Jones to eke out a 6-4, 6-3 win in the Round of 32 before surviving yet another game in the Round of 16, pulling off a 6-4, 7-6(7) victory over Tereza Valentova, who had beaten her twice in as many of their previous meetings.

Eala needed to dig deep once more in the quarterfinals, hacking out a 7-6(7), 7-5 win to oust Croatia's Antonia Ruzic and enter the semifinals — her first Top 4 appearance in the Asian Swing.

Sakkari, currently ranked No. 30 and the fourth-seeded player in the tournament, likewise dominated her first three foes. The 31--year-old veteran first swept American Carol Young Suh Lee with a 6-1, 6-4 win before eliminating Maya Joint with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 comeback.

In the quarterfinals, Sakkari booted out Aliaksandra Sasnovich with a dominant 6-2, 6-3 win and earned the right to face Eala in the semifinals.

Should Eala get past Sakkari, she will face either Alexandra Shubladze or Claire Lui in the finals.

Alex Eala's Season recap (singles)

Asian swing

• Pan Pacific Open — Quarterfinals
• Ningbo Open — Round of 16
• Wuhan Open — Round of 64
• Singapore Tennis Open — Round of 16

North American swing

• US Open — Round of 32
• Cincinnati Open — Round of 32
• Canadian Open — Round of 16
• DC Open — Champion

Grass-court swing

• Wimbledon (Grand Slam) — Round of 16
• Bad Homburg Open (WTA 500) — Round of 32
• Berlin Tennis Open (WTA 500) — Semifinals
• HSBC Championships (WTA 500) — Round of 16
• Birmingham Open (WTA 125) — Champion

Clay-court swing

• French Open (Grand Slam) — Round of 128
• Italian Open (WTA 1000) — Round of 32
• Madrid Open (WTA 1000) — Round of 64
• Stuttgart Open (WTA 500) — Round of 32
• Linz Open (WTA 500) — Round of 16

Sunshine Swing

• Miami Open (WTA 1000) — Round of 16
• Indian Wells Open (WTA 1000) — Round of 16

Middle East Swing

• Dubai Tennis Championships (WTA 1000) — Quarterfinals
• Qatar Open (WTA 1000) — Round of 64
• Abu Dhabi Open (WTA 500) — Quarterfinals

Philippine Women’s Open (WTA 125) — Quarterfinals

Australian Swing

• Australian Open (Grand Slam) — Round of 128
• ASB Classic (WTA 250) — Semifinals

—JKC, GMA News