By MARK REY MONTEJO
Just like in the Australian Open in Melbourne two weeks back, Filipino fans queued in order to see and give Alex Eala the much-needed support. Never mind the expensive tickets.
They did not only cheer, they also prayed for Eala’s success.
After 2 hours and 51 minutes, their prayers were answered as Eala pulled off a stunning 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7) win over Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich to reach the WTA 500 Abu Dhabi Open quarterfinals in the UAE in the wee hours of Thursday, Feb. 5 (Philippine time).
Like gladiators, both players fought furiously for every point, but it was the 20-year-old Eala who emerged victorious as she overcame a 0-4 deficit in the decider before she made another big comeback in the tiebreak to complete her remarkable victory – another one for the ages.
With the win, the unseeded Eala, the current WTA No. 45, booked her spot in the quarters where she will take on No. 2 seed Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova, who cruised past Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska, 6-3, 6-0.
“Each round is even more of a challenge, I think it has its own unique challenges in every match, so I’ll try my best to recover and prepare for that one [quarters],” said Eala.
It is also the second time Eala entered the same stage in the meet as she and her Indonesian partner Janice Tjen also advanced to the quarters of doubles event, facing Spain’s Cristina Bucsa and China’s Shuai Zhang.
“I’m so happy I can’t believe it. Grabe napasubok talaga ‘yong tibay ng dibdib ko,” said Eala. “At siguro kayo rin, kaya congrats mga kababayan. Mabuhay, maraming salamat po.”
“I just think these moments or just moments I only have dreamed about, selling out stadiums is insane, and these matches in particular, are really the ones that stick with you… I’m really happy with this win,” she added.
Eala’s presence was hardly felt early, with the world No. 109 imposing herself by jumping to an early lead and carrying it through to close out the first set.
But things turned different in the second set as Eala broke a 3-3 count after she produced splendid shots to take the last three of four games and force a decider third set.
For a while, Eala appeared headed south as Sasnovich raced to a commanding 4-0 lead and later moving ahead 5-3 – juts a game shy to seal the deal only to see the Filipina netter fight her way back.
After seizing a 6-5 lead, Eala misfired a couple of times, allowing Sasnovich to send the game into a tiebreak.
Sasnovich took a 5-4 lead and looked set for another opportunity, but Eala completed her comeback, forcing the 31-year-old to consecutive service losses to steal the match.
