Diana Shnaider said her three-set win over Alex Eala was worthy of a final after knocking the Filipina out of the Pan Pacific Open on Friday.

After losing in straight sets to the Russian at last week’s Ningbo Open, Eala was determined to right the wrongs from that defeat as she took the opening set 6-2 in their quarter-final.

The 21-year-old was two points from victory in the second-set tiebreak, after having multiple break points to make it 5-4 in the second set, but a costly double fault and a Shnaider ace set up a decider.

The French Open finalist was able to hold her nerve, secure an early break in the third set, and close out a 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 victory in two hours and 52 minutes. Following the win, the 22-year-old was full of praise for Eala and the level both players put on during the contest.

She said in her on-court interview, “I feel like this match deserved to be a final; it was an insane level from both of us.

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“I didn’t believe that I would be able to pull that win off because she played insane, but I was just trying to keep reminding myself to keep fighting for every point. As you can see on this court, it was a very tight second set, so definitely fighting for every point, and that paid off.”

Shnaider was then asked about her game plan against 18-year-old Mia Pohankova, whom she will face in the semi-finals. But after nearly three hours of gruelling tennis, that was not at the forefront of her mind.

She replied, “No idea, guys. I just finished my match; the only thing I want to do is stretch, shower, eat, and do the recovery. That’s all I want to do right now.”

For Eala, she did suffer something of an injury scare after appearing to stumble awkwardly at the end of a point in the third set. At 2-3 down in the decider, the youngster called for the physio and then a medical timeout for an apparent ankle issue.

HOPE EVERYTHING’S OKAY, ALEX 🙏🎾

Alex Eala receives a medical timeout after appearing to slightly twist her right ankle following her fifth-game win against Diana Shnaider in their 2026 Pan Pacific Open quarterfinal clash, with the Filipina trailing 2-3 in the set.

Catch Alex Eala’s quarterfinal match LIVE on Premier Sports 2 via Cignal CH. 273 HD and Cignal Play!

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Eala was able to power through, but it wasn’t enough as she lost to the world No 13 for the second tournament running.

The Washington Open champion is on the entry list for next week’s WTA 250 tournament in Hong Kong but after this injury scare, it remains to be seen if she will be fit enough for that event.

A victory would have seen Eala rise to a career-high ranking of 16 but her defeat keeps her firmly in 18th place heading into the final week of the regular WTA season.

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