Eala-Jovic duo eyes semis berth vs tough Maleckova-Zarazua pair

Eala faces Croatian Petra Marcinko in singles

A quick final four ticket in her first hurrah this season is up for the taking for Alexandra “Alex” Eala.

Ms. Eala and American partner Iva Jovic shoot for a semifinal spot against the seasoned duo of Czechia’s Jesika Maleckova and Mexico’s Renata Zarazua in the 2026 ASB Classic doubles on Thursday at the ASB Tennis Centre in Auckland, New Zealand.

The quarterfinal action sizzles at 6:30 a.m. (Manila time) as the young guns eye another stunner in their first team-up ever after claiming the scalp of WTA No. 13 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine and seven-time major champion Venus Williams of the United States.

It will be a juggling act for Ms. Eala on Thursday, vying in the Round of 16 of the singles play at a still-to-be-determined game time. Ms. Eala essayed a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 comeback win in the Round of 32 against Paris Olympics silver medalist Donna Vekic, No. 69, to arrange a duel against another Croatian Petra Marcinko, WTA No. 82, for a seat in the quarterfinals.

Ms. Eala, 20, and Ms. Jovic, 18, scored a 7-6 (9-7), 6-1 romp of the 31-year-old Ms. Svitolina and 45-year-old Ms. Williams in the opening round of the WTA250-level tourney serving as their warm-up for the Australian Open next week.

The 53^rd ranked Mses. Eala and Jovic, No. 35, now face a more grizzled and more decorated tandem with a combined 47 doubles titles under their belt.

The 31-year-old Ms. Maleckova, ranked No. 72 in the WTA doubles, has won 29 titles in both the ITF and WTA circuits while the 28-year-old Ms. Zarazua, No. 84, has 18 crowns to loom as the heavy favorites. Mses. Eala and Jovic, albeit ranked higher in the singles, are only at No. 163 and No. 216 in the doubles division.

The Czech-Mexican tandem proved their mettle in Round 1 by eliminating the top-seeded tandem of Erin Routliffe and Asia Muhammad of the United States, 3-6, 6-2, 12-10.

Waiting in the semifinals is the third-seeded Chinese pair of Yifan Xu, No. 40, and Zhaoxuan Yang, No. 44, after their 6-4, 1-6, 10-5 win over Isabelle Haverlag of the Netherlands and Maia Lumsden of Great Britain. — John Bryan Ulanday