Filipino tennis star Alex Eala (world No. 37) swept past Thailand's Mananchaya Sawangkaew 6-3, 6-2 on Friday to advance to the semifinals of the Birmingham Open (a WTA 125-level grass-court tournament in the United Kingdom). The result closely mirrored their previous meeting, in which Eala beat the same opponent 6-2, 6-1 to claim the women's singles gold medal at the 2024 Southeast Asian Games in December. Eala will next face Switzerland's Rebeka Masarova as she bids for her second WTA 125 title, having previously won the Guadalajara Open in Mexico last September.