Filipina ace Alex Eala got the boot in the WTA 1000 Dubai Tennis Championships quarterfinals after falling to two-time Grand Slam champion Coco Gauff of the US.
Alex Eala has three top-10 wins in her resume heading to her quarterfinal match against world No. 4 Coco Gauff in the Dubai Tennis Championships.
Just two days ago, Eala shocked eighth-ranked Jasmine Paolini in the second round.
The Filipina started her giant-slaying ways last year, when she beat then-world No. 5 Madison Keys and No. 2 Iga Swiatek in Miami.
But late Thursday evening, Feb. 19, Eala struggled to get anything going and was unable to add Gauff to the statistic as she absorbed a 0-6, 2-6 loss to end her Dubai campaign.
Coming off stellar wins against Paolini and veteran Sorana Cirstea, the 47th-ranked Eala could not hit her mark against the two-time Grand Slam champion.
As Eala targeted Gauff's weaker forehand side at the onset, it was the Filipina who botched her shots from that wing, which made up the bulk of her 15 unforced errors in the opening frame.
Gauff tightened the screws on her own forehand, delivering five of her nine winners off that side as she did not allow Eala any breathing room in the set.
But as Gauff raced to a 4-0 lead in the second, she knew that when facing Eala, the battle was far from over.
“Alex is a tough competitor. Even when I was up, I knew she can come back at any given moment. I’ve seen her do it,” said Gauff during the post-match on-court interview.
Indeed, Eala gave her a bit of trouble late in the second set, sending her throngs of Filipino fans into a frenzy.
Eala finally held serve in the fifth game and consolidated with a break as Gauff wobbled with two of her eight double faults — another struggle in the 21-year-old American's game.
But fueled by the momentum of her previous match against Elise Mertens, where she saved three match points and prevailed despite committing 16 double faults, Gauff quickly shut the door on Eala's comeback attempt as she took the next two games for the victory.
In all, Gauff churned out 15 winners while limiting her unforced errors to just 19 in the swift 67-minute match that once again kept the Filipino fans up late as it ended early Friday morning, Feb. 20 (Manila time).
Eala, on the other hand, spewed 33 unforced errors to just eight winners.
Despite playing against a highly partisan crowd, Gauff sees the positive effect this has on tennis.
“I’d like to thank Alex for bringing a new demographic to the sport. I really appreciate it. It’s great,” she said.
“I know it’s tough when you’re playing against a home crowd, but I think it’s great for the sport. So keep being enthusiastic and keep rooting for your player.”
Gauff will now head to her 13th WTA 1000 semifinal, where she will face world No. 9 Elina Svitolina.
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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.