Alex Eala figures in battle of history-making Southeast Asians vs Janice Tjen

MANILA, Philippines – Alex Eala tangles with another history-making Southeast Asian as she shoots for a final four berth in the Sao Paulo Open in Brazil.

Seeded third, Eala faces Indonesia’s Janice Tjen in the quarterfinals of the WTA 250 event at the Villa-Lobos State Park on Friday, September 12 (Saturday, September 13, Manila time).

Their clash comes weeks after the two pulled off landmark wins in the US Open in New York, where they ended long Grand Slam droughts for their respective countries.

Eala became the first Filipino to win a major main draw match in the Open era when she stunned Denmark’s Clara Tauson in the opening round, while Tjen earned the first Grand Slam win by an Indonesian in 22 years following her upset of Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova.

“I’m so happy to see the progress of tennis in Southeast Asia in general,” Eala said back in August.

“I’ve known [Tjen] for a long time, so I’m happy for her. I’m happy that players from this region are coming up and starting to be successful.”

Although they both exited in the second round, with Eala losing to Cristina Bucsa of Spain and Tjen falling prey to former US Open champion Emma Raducanu of Great Britain, they continue to make waves on the global stage.

Eala, who is currently the highest-ranked Southeast Asian in the world at No. 61, captured her first-ever WTA Challenger crown by ruling the Guadalajara Open in Mexico just days ago.

The 20-year-old Filipina rides on a seven-match winning streak as she beat France’s Yasmine Mansouri and Argentina’s Julia Riera in the first two rounds of the SP Open.

Meanwhile, the 23-year-old Tjen became the first Indonesian to reach a WTA quarterfinal after making short work of Slovakia’s Martina Okalova to arrange a duel with Eala.

Improving 19 spots in the latest world rankings released last Monday, September 8, Tjen rose to a career-high No. 130.

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