Alexandra Eala produced the most stunning comeback of her career on Wednesday as she advanced to the Abu Dhabi Open quarter-finals.
After splitting the first two sets against Aliksandra Sasnovich, Eala was on the verge of defeat after falling 0-4 down in the deciding set.
Eala, who faced a break point at 0-4, demonstrated her grit and determination to fight back from such a deficit – eventually winning the contest 2-6, 6-4, 7-6.
Does anybody else even come close to Alex Eala’s popularity right now?
As is commonplace in Eala’s matches, the crowd was in raptures throughout, and Eala deservedly took in the applause after the match.
After coming through such a nail-biting contest, the 20-year-old star reflected on her ‘career-defining performance.
Alexandra Eala reacts to ‘career-defining’ victory in Abu Dhabi
Monica Puig, the on-court interviewer, asked Eala: “Alexandra, these truly are career-defining moments, I’ve been in your position but I can’t even imagine right now what you’re feeling, can you describe it?
Eala responded: “I’m so happy, I can’t believe! I just think these moments are moments I only have dreamed about – selling out stadiums is insane!
“And being in these matches in particular are really the ones that kind of stick with you. I’ve had a lot of them in the past year and I’m really happy with this one.”
Eala also discussed the tactical battle that took place during the match, praising her opponent’s composure at the start of the match before commenting on the ‘fight’ she showed.
“Yeah, I think she started really well and in the tight moments, she also stepped up especially with the serve and a lot of winners,” Eala said.
“I really tried my best in those moments to fight, and in the end when I was coming back, I was able to find it, I’m really proud of that.”
Eala, perhaps the most popular player on the WTA Tour, will face second seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova, the world number 11, defeated Dayana Yastremska in her round of 16 match.
- Quarter-finals: Ekaterina Alexandrova
- Semi-finals: Hailey Baptiste or Liudmila Samsonova
- Final: Sonay Kartal / Sara Bejlek / Clara Tauson / McCartney Kessler
Speaking about her next contest, Eala added: “I do have a long way to go! Each round is even more of a challenge, it has its own unique challenge, every match. So I’ll try my best to recover and prepare for that one.”
Eala’s big opportunity
Earlier on Wednesday, Belinda Bencic – the top seed and defending champion – withdrew from the Abu Dhabi Open due to illness.
Bencic’s withdrawal has given all other competitors a much simpler pathway to the title in Abu Dhabi, and Alexandra Eala could take advantage.
How high do you think Alexandra Eala’s ceiling is?
Of course, Eala will have to perform superbly to win the title in the UAE. Alexandrova represents an extremely tough test in the last eight, and the remaining players in the draw are all capable of defeating the young Filipino star.
There is more good news for Eala after her latest victory. The youngster is currently set to rise seven places to a career-high world number 38 on the WTA live rankings.
