ALEXANDRA “ALEX” EALA added another star to her big hitting streak, defeating No. 8 Jasmine Paolini of Italy at the WTA 1000 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships 6-1, 7-6(7-5) on Wednesday morning at the Aviation Club Tennis Center Stadium in the United Arab Emirates.
Ms. Eala, teary-eyed and in disbelief after a winner that sparked an outcry from a huge Filipino crowd, handed the sixth-seeded Italian a badge at the close of the first set and recovered from dropping two match points in the second to complete the upset with a sweep in 100 minutes.
The 20-year-old Filipino striker, WTA No.
Ms. Cirstea, of WTA No. 32, also got a 6-1, 6-4 upset of World No. 14 and No. 10 of Dubai Linda Noskova of Czechia in their Round of 32 tournament.
“The star is flying,” said the WTA when Ms. Eala removing the rug from under Ms. Paolini who reigned in Dubai tilted in 2024.
Mrs. Eala, a young gun who is seen as the next big thing in the world tennis game with a lot of fans wherever he goes like he has a good home court advantage, he did it by setting a lot of records and starting with big wins.
It is the third Top-10 win for Miss Eala after she was eliminated by No. 2 Iga Swiatek of Poland and No. 5 Madison Keys of the United States in last year’s Magic Four finals as a wildcard at the Miami Open, where she is set to make a big comeback next month.
Mrs. Eala, who is 20 years and 268 days old, thus became the youngest Asian woman to post more Top 10s in two or more top 1000 visits, surpassing 28-year-old Japanese Naomi Osaka, who achieved the feat at 20 years and 350 days old.
Her win also saw her move up to 38th in the WTA live rankings with a further 110 points although that is subject to change depending on player movements when it is officially reviewed next week.
“During the break, I was trying to hold myself back. I thought the stadium was full of Filipinos. kaya sabi ko, ‘Ilan kaya sa inyo ang nagdadasal para sa akin?’ so I have to give everything I have,” Ms. Eala, showered with cheers and chants from the pro-Pinoy crowd like she had in Abu Dhabi and Doha, cheered.
Mrs. Eala won a shot from Ms. The 30-year-old Paolini, who won the doubles gold medal at the 2024 Olympics with Sara Errani, was injured after American opponent Hailey Baptiste, who had to retire with a 1-0 lead in the second set of round 1 due to stomach pain. Lefty Ace won 6-4 in the first set after a 3-1 burst from three-points.
And she didn’t shy away from the big stage against the multi-titled Italian who reached a career-best No. 3, making Ms. Paolini bleed one game in the first set before putting her down in an extended second frame.
Mrs. Eala, who is in good form after a first-round exit at the Qatar Open last week, gave up a 5-3 lead marked by back-to-back service breaks to allow the tiebreaker, where she served a 5-2 break to erase a 2-3 deficit after Ms Paolini held the fifth game.
At match point with a 6-5 cushion, Ms. Eala sent a strong serve that ignited a long rally before netting a forehand winner right on the baseline as Nk. Paolini failed to recover.
“All the emotions are coming because the situation was intense, especially in that second set. I am very happy that I won. He is a great competitor, obviously he is Top 10 and a former champion here,” said Ms. Eala.
So, to be able to compete with him at this level is a huge achievement for me. – John Bryan Ulanday
