Alex Eala and Janice Tjen are staying a little longer in the Abu Dhabi Open after booking a trip to the semifinals.
Alex Eala isn’t going home just yet.
Just hours after her singles exit, Eala teamed up with Janice Tjen and disposed of Zhang Shuai and Cristina Bucsa, 6-3, 6-3, in the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open doubles quarterfinals early Friday, Feb. 6 (Manila time).
Proudly representing Southeast Asia, the Eala-Tjen duo is now through to the semifinals of the WTA 500 tourney.
They were simply in control the entire way, getting the job done in only an hour and six minutes at the Stadium Court.
Off the break after the first set, Eala and Tjen raced off to a scintillating 3-0 lead to start the second frame.
Zhang and Busca refused to just roll over and die, winning the next two games to close in, 3-2.
But the tennisters from Asia regained steam after that claiming the next three games save for the penultimate one.
Earlier, Eala dropped a 6-3, 6-3 decision against world No. 11 Ekaterina Alexandrova in their quarterfinal tiff.
While she got only brief respite, Eala went to work right away and didn’t look like she was shaken by the heartbreaking loss in disposing of Zhang and Bucsa in a dominant fashion.
Eala and her Indonesian partner broke their foes early, zooming to a 3-0 lead it preserved until the end of the opening frame.
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Like most sportswriters, Jan Ballesteros once dreamed of becoming a professional hooper. But he learned the hard way that it’s not for everyone.
He continues to be involved in the sport he loves, but this time as a member of the PBA Press Corps. Aside from primarily covering the PBA, he is also assigned to cover Gilas Pilipinas.