Posted by ReyFort Media
(UPDATED) Filipina tennis star Alex Eala showcased her remarkable fighting spirit yet again in advancing to the quarterfinals of the Abu Dhabi Open, early Thursday morning (Manila time).
Eala battled back from a set down and a 0-4 deficit in the third set to stun Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus, 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5).
It was a sensational result for the 20-year-old, who appeared headed for the exit after a sluggish start in the decider but instead gutted out one of the most impressive wins of her young career.
“Napasubok talaga ‘yung tibay ng dibdib ko,” Eala said, addressing the Filipino fans that packed center court to watch her. “Sigurado ako na kayo din, kaya congrats mga kababayan. Mabuhay, maraming salamat po.”
“She started really well and in the tight moments, she also stepped up, especially with the serve,” she added. “I really tried in those moments to fight, I really tried to find the fight. In the end, when I was coming back, I was able to find it.
“So I’m really proud of that.”
World No. 45 Eala had entered with great momentum after an impressive 6-4, 6-3 win over Turkey’s Zeynep Sönmez in the first round.
She dropped the opener against the veteran Sasnovich, but appeared to have turned the match around after battling to a gritty victory in the second set, breaking the world No. 109 in the tenth game to force a decider.
Sasnovich broke her immediately in the first game of the third set, however, and reeled off four straight games to seize control.
Showing no quit, Eala held her serve to get on the board, then pounced on Sasnovich’s errors to make it 4-2. Sasnovich broke back to take a 5-2 lead, with back-to-back miscues by Eala handing the momentum back to her opponent.
With an opportunity to wrap up the win, however, Sasnovich faltered. She reached match point off an ace, only to double-fault and give Eala another opportunity. Sasnovich would save a break point with another ace, but a forehand error gave Eala a third break point and this time the Filipina took advantage.
Eala fired a backhand winner for a 5-3 count, and she rode that momentum to win the next three games for a stunning 6-5 advantage.
Sasnovich held her serve in the 12th game to force a tiebreak, with Eala committing back-to-back errors that kept her opponent in the hunt.
In a back-and-forth tiebreak, Eala benefited anew from Sasnovich’s miscues, with the veteran sending a forehand into the net to put the Filipina at match point. Another Sasnovich error — this time with her shot going wide — sealed the deal for Eala in the marathon match.
Up next for the Filipina in the quarterfinals is a showdown with the second seed, Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia.
“I do have a long way to go,” Eala said afterward. “Each round is even more of a challenge. I’ll try my best to recover and prepare for that one.” (C.B. Naredo/ abs-cbn)
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