By MARK REY MONTEJO
Southeast Asian stars Alex Eala and Janice Tjen showed grit under pressure to shock veterans Leylah Fernandez and Kristina Mladenovic, 7-5, 3-6, 10-6, and barge into the quarterfinals of the WTA 500 Abu Dhabi Open in the United Arab Emirates early Wednesday, Jan. 4 (Philippine time).
As their round-of-16 clash went to a deciding third set, Eala and Indonesian Tjen maintained their composure in the tiebreak as they broke a 6-6 tie by ripping off four straight points to shut the door on the Canadian-French duo’s comeback bid.
The triumph carried extra weight, with US Open finalist Fernandez’s teammate 32-year-old Mladenovic a proven force being a multiple Grand Slam champion in both doubles and mixed events.
With their win, Eala and Tjen set up a quarters showdown either against the pairs of formidable Ukrainians sisters Lyudmyla and Nadiia Kichenok or Spain’s Cristina Bucsa and China’s Shuai Zhang.
Eala and Tjen are also competing in the singles’ Last 16 where the latter was recently booted out after a 2-6, 2-6 loss to No. 5 seed Russian Liudmila Samsonova, while the Filipina ace is taking on Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
It was a lethargic start for both Eala and Tjen as they dropped the first two games but they quickly regained their footing and took the next three for a 3-2 lead.
It turned into a neck-and-neck affair as both pairs were locked at 5-5, but the WTA No. 45 and No. 47 held their ground against their battle-tested rivals in the ensuing games, notably in the 12th, where they prouced a break point to seal the opening set win.
The Southeast Asian duo, however, faltered in the second set, as No. 25 Fernandez and Mladenovic transformed a 2-0 lead into a commanding 4-2 margin, that proved big enough for Eala and Tjen to overcome.
But fortunately, with a flock of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) in the bleachers, Eala and Tjen got a much-needed fuel and went on to reclaim the upper hand early in the tiebreak, 6-3.
The pressure then started to intensify when Fernandez and Mladenovic rallied furiously that had the supporters of the Asian aces sitting on the edge of their seats.
Eala and Tien, however, showed nerves of steel, coming through with spectacular plays to restore order before sending their fans into a state of ecstasy with another jaw-dropping shot.
