00:00Welcome to News Plus Globe!
00:02Papina tennis star Alexandra Iala just stormed into the semifinals of the Birmingham Open.
00:07World No. 37 defeated Thailand's Manan Chaya Sawangkau 6-3, 6-2 in 1 hour and 21 minutes.
00:13This is her third straight win on grass this season after beating Priscilla Hahn and Alina Chareva.
00:18Iala is the top seed at this WTA 125 event in Birmingham, England.
00:22After her dominant first-round win, she said, and I quote,
00:25I'm really happy. I think I have arrived in a much improved state than where I was last year.
00:30They dropped just 10 points behind serve in her opening match and broke Hahn six times.
00:34Last year, she became the first Filipina to reach a WTA final at the Eastbourne Open.
00:38Iala is currently ranked 38th in the world with a career high of 29th reached back in March.
00:42She reached quarterfinals in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the third round at Indian Wells and Miami.
00:47However, she has struggled at Grand Slams this year with first-round exits at both the Australian Open and French
00:51Open.
00:52Iala also received a promotion to the main draw of the prestigious Queens Club Championships next week.
00:56It replaced injured players Jessica Pagula and Haley Baptiste at the WTA 500 event in London.
01:01Iala will face Turkey's Rebecca Massarova in the Birmingham Open semifinals for a spot in the final.
01:0521-year-old Rafa Nadal Academy graduate continues to rise up the rankings.
01:09That's all for now.
01:10Thanks for watching News Plus Globe.
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