Eala fights through to keep Abu Dhabi Open bid alive

Alex Eala

STAR / Russell Palma

MANILA, Philippines — Filipina tennis ace Alex Eala had to dig deep to get into the quarterfinal round of the Mabudala Abu Dhabi Open early Thursday morning.

Eala went down 0-4 in the deciding third set before storming back and “finding the fight” to grab the 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(5) victory over Belarus’ Aliaksandra Sasnovich.

The Filipina, after the match, said that she really tried to claw back and “find the fight” despite the stellar play of Sasnovich to keep herself in the running for the Abu Dhabi title.

“Yeah, I think she started really well and in the tight moments. I think she also stepped up, especially with the serve and a lot of winners,” she said in the post-match interview.

“I really tried my best in those moments to fight, I really tried to find the fight. And in the end, I think, you know, when I was coming back, I was able to find it, so I'm really proud of that,” she added.

Eala trailed 0-4 in the final set, as her Abu Dhabi quest looked doomed as she seemed running out of fuel.

But the World No. 45 tennister won the next two games to put herself on the board.

Her opponent, though, moved to match point, 5-2, before the Filipina fought her way to the much-needed gritty victory.

“I just think these moments are moments I only dreamt about. Selling out stadiums, it’s insane,” Eala said.

“These matches in particular are really the ones that stick with you.”

And while she had a spirited victory in the round of 16, it will only be harder moving forward as she takes on World No. 11 Ekaterina Alexandrova in the quarterfinals.

“Yeah. A long way to go. And each round is even more of a challenge, I think it has its own unique challenges every match, so I'll try my best to recover and prepare for that one.”

After her match with the second-seeded Alexandrova in the singles’ action on Thursday night, Eala will have a quick turnaround as she teams up with Indonesia’s Janice Tjen as they face the second-seeded pair of Zhang Shuai and Cristina Bucsa in the doubles’ quarterfinal round.