Alex Eala outlasts Maria Sakkari to clinch Hong Kong Tennis Open finals berth 

Alexandra 'Alex' Eala battled through multiple rain delays and a second-set stumble to outlast Greece's Maria Sakkari, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 in a hard-fought Hong Kong Open semifinal clash on Saturday.

With the victory over the world No. 30, the Filipina star booked her place in the championship round for the first time in the Asian Swing and will make one final push for a title this season when she faces American Claire Liu on Sunday.

Eala had to dig deep to pull off a victory that was anything but straightforward.

The 21-year-old Eala raced to an early 3-1 lead in the opening set, but Sakkari fought back by winning four of the next five games to take a 5-4 advantage in match that saw multiple delays brought by inclement weather.

The Filipina, however, responded by sweeping the next three games to take the set, capping her comeback with a dominant 12th game where she fired a 151-km/h ace before forcing Sakkari into two consecutive errors to close it out.

Set 2 was a different story.

Sakkari quickly cruised to a 3-0 lead after closing the third game with an ace to cap a comeback from 0-30 down. Eala, however, would take three of the next five games, but Sakkari found ways to finish it off in the ninth game to drag Eala to a Set 3.

Eala comfortably seized a 3-0 lead in the final frame before taking a 4-1 cushion, but Sakkari once again fought back by stunning Eala in the next three games to force a 4-all deadlock.

Eala regrouped in the last two games, forcing Sakkari to a return error to close out Game 9 before the Greek star committed four infractions in Game 10 as Eala finished it off to advance to the finals for the first time since her title run at the Mubadala DC Open last August.

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