Alex Eala refused to back down against a more experienced player in Sorana Cirstea and thus arranged a first-ever meeting with Coco Gauff in the WTA 1000 Dubai Tennis Championships.
Alex Eala conjured another tour-de-force performance, besting Sorana Cirstea, 7-5, 6-4 in their Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships Round of 16 match early Thursday, Feb. 19 (Manila time).
Buoyed by a raucous crowd yet again at Center Court, Eala got back at her 2024 Madrid Open tormentor and booked a trip to the quarterfinals, where she will clash with world No. 4 Coco Gauff.
This will be Eala's first-ever meeting with Gauff, who was once her doubles partner in Rome last year.
Eala will look to get her fourth top-10 win against Gauff, after previously stunning eighth-ranked Jasmine Paolini of Italy in the Round of 32, as well as Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek last year.
The Filipina sensation stopped an inspired Cirstea, who lifted the Transylvania Open trophy in her home country of Romania nearly two weeks ago.
Meanwhile, Gauff edged Elise Mertens in her own Round of 16 match, where she averted disaster by saving three match points, 2-6, 7-6(9), 6-3.
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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.