{"id":68435,"date":"2026-02-19T13:23:03","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T09:23:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/?p=68435"},"modified":"2026-02-19T13:23:03","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T09:23:03","slug":"filipina-fairytale-continues-as-alex-eala-wins-in-dubai-to-set-up-last-eight-date-with-world-no4-coco-gauff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/filipina-fairytale-continues-as-alex-eala-wins-in-dubai-to-set-up-last-eight-date-with-world-no4-coco-gauff\/","title":{"rendered":"Filipina Fairytale Continues As Alex Eala Wins In Dubai To Set Up Last-Eight Date With World No4 Coco Gauff"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Filipina fairytale continues. From Quezon City to the quarterfinals of the Dubai<\/a> Duty Free Tennis Championships,20-year-old Alexandra Eala defeated Sorana Cirstea 7-5, 6-4under the lights of Centre Court on Wednesday to book a last-eight date with World No4 Coco Gauff.<\/p>\n

\u201cI take it all in with a spoonful of gratitude,\u201d Eala said, after being cheered on like the superstar she is quickly becoming among her compatriots.<\/p>\n

The World No47 \u2013 the highest-ranked Filipina in WTA Tour history \u2013showed a quiet confidence from the first game to slowlygrind down her veteran opponentand reach the quarterfinals of a 1000 tournament for the second time in her fledgling career.Cirstea came into the tie 15 places higher in the world rankings and having reached the semi-finals here two years ago.Yet such was the energy inside a thronged Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium, the Romanian never looked likely to quieten the Kabayan crowd.<\/p>\n

That is not to suggest thepassionate fans got their new hero over the line. Eala has after all been preparing for moments like these since she was fouryears old and being coached by her grandad in Manila. \u201cObviously their support means a lot to me,\u201d she said of the raucous support.\u201cIt definitely motivated me in the tight moments and makes the emotions more intense when I win, but I wouldn’t attribute all of it to them. Whether they\u2019re there or not, I’m going to fight until the end and do what I can to win.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’ve not always been a competitor who’s been put in night sessions on CentreCourt. I’ve been playing tennis for many years and I’m also used to playing in front of no crowds.I’m still in the earlier phase of my career, so I’m doing my best to enjoy and I hope the feeling is reciprocated by the crowd. It just creates an amazing atmosphere.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the first set going with serve through 10 games, Eala finally grabbed the break she needed to take a 6-5lead before consolidating.In the second set, such was Eala\u2019s early dominanceand the noise it generated among thepartisan crowd that it almost felt cruel on Cirstea. Every winner from Eala, every unforced error from the Romanian, and every break in play, was filled with ear-splitting cheers, catchy chants, and the waving of flags, posters, and hand-made signs \u2013 including one that read \u201cAlex, please marry my son\u201d.<\/p>\n

Cirsteahad complained only a few weeks ago at the Australian Open when she deemed Naomi Osakato have been excessively vocal while pumping herself up between points. How she must have felt then during this one-hour 38-minute match as the crowd screamed like Beatlemania reborn andthe only thing that could quieten it\u2013 her A-game \u2013 never quite got going.The umpire certainly had his work cut out too, stepping in repeatedly to remind the fans that silence is required during play.<\/p>\n

When Eala closed out the win, smiling widely before eventually letting out a guttural roar in the middle of the court, she turned her focus to Thursday: \u201cWin or lose, it’s a great opportunity for me to learn. Obviously facing a player like Coco is something that people would kill to do \u2013 andin a quarterfinal here in Dubai as well, so I’m super excited.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier in the evening on the same court, Gauff had hit 16 double-faults and was forced to save three second-set match-points as she fought back against Elise Mertens toconfirmher place on other side of the net. The American, ranked No4 in the world, progressed2-6, 7-6(9), 6-3, but it was painful viewing \u2013 even for her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m trying to be positive,\u201d she said.\u201cI’m critical. I feel like… I don’t know. It’s weird. I feel like the last tournament I took some steps forward, and today I took some steps backwards, but still got the win. It\u2019s a weird feeling.I feel conflicted. It wasn’t the prettiest, but I’m also happy. I could have easily lost.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite Mertens having beaten a top 10 player only once in the past 12 attempts on hard courts, Gauff hadstarted erratically, losing two of her first three service games and lookingwell-beaten as she slumped to a first-set loss within 33 minutes.The stats card made for even more unpleasant reading;three double-faults and 14 unforced errors off her forehand epitomised a first-set performance far from the standard expected of a World No4.<\/p>\n

Often at such times, the experience that comes with Grand Slam titles and lofty world rankings means players can mentally reset, returning to court to turn the match on its head. Gauff seemed to simply continue where sheleft off, gifting her opponent an early break.But then camea glimmer of hope as she broke back.In doing so, sheregaineda little control andit was then the turn of Mertens to fire off a series of unforced errors.<\/p>\n

The 21-year-oldsoon found herself 5-3 up and serving to tie the set, butonce morefaltered, double-faultingand failing to hold to allow her opponent a route back into the set andpush it towards a tie-break. What followed was a showcase of ugly tennis and erratic, wild serving. Gauff saved three match pointsbefore getting lucky whenshe clipped the cord with a backhand.Apologising with a raised hand, she took the lead and closed out the tiebreak 11-9 to force a deciding set.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like it’s almost easier to play when you\u2019re down than when you have the match in your hands,\u201d Gauff said. \u201cI just wanted to give myself the chance today. I feel like my last two matches \u2013 in Doha and the Australian Open \u2013 I didn’t feel like I fought enough for the second sets. This match, when I lost the first set, I really wanted to fight for that second and give myself the opportunity to compete in the third.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the third set confirmed, she grabbed the opportunity, securing the vital break at 4-3, before immediately consolidatingto progress. \u201cI don\u2019t even remember the last time I saved matchpoints, probably when I was 15, so I\u2019m really happy to get through today \u2013 it was a long one,\u201d she said, before addressing the majority-Pinoy crowd with a giggle. \u201cI know you guys are probably here for Alex, so I\u2019m sorry I made you wait!\u201d<\/p>\n

The 26th<\/sup> edition of the annual WTA event, which runs until February 15 21, features 16 of the top 20 ranked female players in the world and 35 of the top 40.\u00a0The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships is owned and organised by Dubai Duty Free and held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE<\/a> and Ruler of Dubai. It will be followed by the emirate\u2019s annual ATP 500 men\u2019s tournament from February 23 to 28.<\/p>\n

There are multiple ticket categories still on sale for the 2026 Championships, with prices starting from Dh65. For full details, visit\u00a0dubaidutyfreetennischampionships.com<\/a> or\u00a0ticketmaster.ae<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Filipina fairytale continues. From Quezon City to the quarterfinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships,20-year-old Alexandra Eala defeated Sorana Cirstea 7-5, 6-4under the lights of Centre Court on Wednesday to book a last-eight date with World No4 Coco Gauff. \u201cI take it all in with a spoonful of gratitude,\u201d Eala said, after being […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":68436,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-68435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68435"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68435\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68437,"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68435\/revisions\/68437"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}