Alex Eala outlasts Maria Sakkari in rain-soaked Hong Kong Open semifinals, faces Claire Liu in final

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In an already impressive breakthrough year, Alex Eala is aiming to close it with a bang.

The Fiilpina tennis ace is one win away from her second title of the season with a hard-fought and rain delay filled 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 victory over fourth seed Maria Sakkari in the Hong Kong Open semifinals on Saturday at Victoria Park Centre Court.

This puts Eala one win away from claiming her second WTA Tour title of the year, following her triumph at the WTA 500 DC Open. While she also won the Birmingham Open earlier this season, a 125 event is classified separately and is not counted among her WTA Tour titles.

To start the match, Eala immediately put Sakkari under pressure from the baseline, capitalizing on an uncharacteristically shaky opening service game from the Greek to break at love. She followed it up with a comfortable hold of her own, also to love, to establish an early 2-0 advantage in the opening set.

Eala continued to dictate the early exchanges, winning the first two points of Sakkari's second service game to move ahead 0-30. However, the 31-year-old Greek responded with four consecutive points to finally get on the scoreboard at 2-1.

It looked like the second seed was poised to pull away after another routine hold in the fourth game, even earning four break-point opportunities in the fifth. But Sakkari weathered the pressure to protect her serve before finding her own breakthrough in the sixth game, converting a break to level the set at 3-3.

The momentum continued to swing as the two traded breaks in the seventh and eighth games, setting up a crucial stretch with the opening set hanging in the balance. Eala remained aggressive on return and earned two more break points in the ninth game, but Sakkari held firm to claim her first lead of the match at 5-4.

With Sakkari just a game away from taking the set, Eala once again showed the composure that has carried her through the tournament. She held serve to draw level before stepping up her return game in the 11th, securing a crucial break to move ahead 6-5.

Eala made sure not to let the opportunity slip, maintaining her aggression on return to break Sakkari for the third time in the set and close out the opener, 7-5, after a hard-fought opener.

Light rain continued to fall as the second set got underway, but Sakkari wasted little time turning the momentum in her favor. The former world No. 3 stood firm against Eala's aggressive returning in the opening games and secured an early break in the second to build a commanding 3-0 lead.

With the weather once again interrupting play before the fourth game, both players managed to hold serve through the seventh, allowing Sakkari to maintain her 5-2 advantage. The eighth game, however, proved particularly challenging as rain repeatedly disrupted rallies. Despite the interruptions, Eala held her serve once more to trim the deficit to 5-3.

The Filipina then found an opportunity to put Sakkari under pressure in the ninth game, earning two break points as she looked to mount a late comeback. Another spell of rain halted play, though, giving the Greek time to regroup. Once action resumed, Sakkari leaned on her forehand and steady serving to close out the set, 6-3, and force a deciding third.

Despite the persistent rain interruptions, Eala came out firing in the deciding set, holding serve in the opener before capitalising on a costly double fault from Sakkari to secure an early break in the second game. She quickly established a 2-0 advantage, putting the pressure back on the Greek.

Sakkari tried to respond in the third game, matching Eala's baseline intensity and stepping up her aggression to create two break-point opportunities. However, the second seed stood her ground under pressure, fending off both chances to protect her serve and extend her lead to a commanding 3-0.

But the current world No. 30 finally got on the board with a hold of serve in the fourth game, Eala was content to exchange holds, even though she had the chance to go up double break in the sixth with three missed break points, with still a 4-2 lead.

That missed opportunity proved to be huge as Sakkari got her first break of the set in the seventh game and consolidated by another hold in the eighth game to knot it up at 4-4 apiece late in the third set.

Eala once again showed her ability to close out tight matches, carrying her momentum into the final stretch with a crucial hold in the ninth game before taking advantage of consecutive double faults from Sakkari in the 10th. She capitalised on the opening to secure the decisive break and seal the set, 6-4.

Despite being outpaced in the ace count, 12-2, Eala made up for it with her effectiveness on return, winning 60 points compared to Sakkari's 38 to ultimately secure the victory.

One opponent now stands in the way of Eala to get her second WTA title of the year in Claire Liu , who dispatched Alexandra Shubadlze, 7-5, 6-4.