Alex Eala and Janice Tjen stop the duo of Leylah Fernandez and Kristina Mladenovic, winning a third-set super tiebreak to advance in the doubles draw of the Abu Dhabi Open.
The unexpected but dream tandem of Alex Eala and Janice Tjen gets their first win.
Eala and Tjen needed a third-set super tiebreak to overcome Leylah Fernandez and Kristina Mladenovic in the doubles draw of the Abu Dhabi Open early Wednesday (PH time), 7-5, 3-6, 10-6.
The SEA duo of Eala and Tjen staged a comeback to win a close opening set, then recovered quickly in the third-set tiebreak to move on in the quarterfinals.
For Eala in particular, it’s a double victory as the Filipina ace won her singles opener the day prior and will play Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the Round of 16.
For Tjen, it’s a consolation as she gets to continue her Abu Dhabi Open stint.
The Indonesian standout lost in the second round of singles against no. 5 seed Liudmila Samsonova a couple of hours before teaming up with Eala.