Alex Eala fought back from a disastrous start in the third set, displaying steely nerves to frustrate Aliaksandra Sasnovich and advance to the quarterfinals in the Abu Dhabi Open.
Alex Eala recovered from a flat start in the deciding third set to pull the rug from under Belarusian netter Aliaksandra Sasnovich, 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(5), to march on to the quarterfinals of the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open on early Thursday morning (Manila time).
The World No. 45 found herself struggling against Sasnovich, when she was amiss with her serve — especially in the opening set.
After evening the match on a late break in the second, Eala then lost steam to fall to a 0-4 hole in the third set against a confident Sasnovich who relied on her superior service — firing four of her five aces in the frame.
But Eala rode the energy of the dominantly Filipino crowd to begin mounting her comeback, winning two straight games and breaking Sasnovich’s serve in the sixth to gain some ground, 4-2.
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The toughest test came when Sasnovich pushed her to the brink, breaking Eala’s serve in the next game to move on cusp of the victory. She then served her way to one match point in the eighth game.
But Eala saved it and converted on her third break point of the game to swing momentum to her side.
It was all Eala from there until she moved on the cusp of victory for the first time in the match, holding serve for a 6-5 lead.
But Sasnovich, who was serving well most of the way, kept herself in the thick of battle after holding and forcing the tiebreak.
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It was a nip-and-tuck battle in the tiebreak, with neither playering giving an inch, until Sasnovich took the first mini break on a forehand winner at 4-5.
But Eala refused to fold, taking the mini break back and reaching match point on back-to-back errors by Sasnovich. She did not put this opportunity to waste, converting behind another miscue from Sasnovich on her favored backhand to seal it.
Eala faces world No. 11 Ekaterina Alexandrova in the quarterfinals next.
The Filipina sensation also plays in doubles with Indonesia’s Janice Tjen. They face Zhang Shuai and Cristina Bucsa in the quarterfinal.
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Luisa Morales is a sportswriter with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.