Alex Eala overcomes the odds as she beats Jasmine Paolini in straight sets at Dubai Duty Free Championships to book herself a place in the round of 16.
The Filipina star frustrated the 2024 Wimbledon finalist right from the first serve as she sent the Dubai crowd wild with her victory.
Eala’s first breakthrough in the opening set came when she broke Paolini’s serve to give herself a 3-1 lead.
This gave the youngster confidence as she went on to win the next three games, hitting a notable ace in the final game of the opening set as she stamped her authority on the match.
After a disappointing first set, Paolini looked frustrated as she came out fast in the second with her serves consistently reaching the 150 kpm mark.
The Italian took the first game, but Eala held her own serve well and quickly replied to make it 1-1, with the momentum staying with the Filipino.
Eala was playing some great tennis and looked to keep the pressure firmly on her opponent as the third game went to deuce. Just as it looked like Paolini was going to claim the game as she took advantage, the 30-year-old hit a double fault allowing Eala a route back in to the game which she took expertly to go 2-1 up.
Paolini looked rattled as Eala was playing perhaps some of the best tennis she has played so far this year. The 20-year-old continued her surge in the second set winning the fourth game 40 love to take a commanding 3-1 lead.
With a two-game lead, everything looked as if it was Eala’s game to lose but Paolini showed her experience as she regrouped and won the next two games to take it to 3-3.
Eala didn’t let this knock her confidence however and showed incredible desire to break the Italian’s serve again to take the lead once more.
After winning the following game, Eala looked destined for the round of 16 but Paolini wasn’t going to make it easy for the fan favourite as she went on to win the next two taking it to 5-5.
The momentum seemed to have shifted with Eala seemingly beginning to slightly tire as the more experienced Paolini made it 6-5, only for the World no 47 to take the game to a tie-break.
Eala went on to win 7-5 hitting a huge winning forehand joined by a huge scream as her outburst of emotion echoed around Centre Court.
Sorana Cirstea up next
Eala will go into her round of 16 match against World no 32 full of confidence following her win over Paolini who on paper is a much tougher opponent.
However, Cirstea has had a strong tournament herself, she faced Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the first round and controlled much of the match, winning 6-3, 7-6(6) in just under two hours to book her place in the second round.
In Round 2, Cirstea raised her level even further when she played Linda Noskova, the world No. 14 and the tournament’s No. 10 seed. Cirstea dominated from the baseline with heavy hitting and decisive shot-making, closing out the victory 6-1, 6-4 in roughly one hour and 10 minutes to reach the round of 16.
Eala praises fans again
Speaking after the match, Eala said that while she’s accustomed to strong support, this game felt different, the crowd lifted her on every single point and gave her an extra surge of energy throughout the match.
She said: “The stadium was so full tonight, I looked up at one point and there was Filipinos for days, it’s such a blessing to be able to play in those sorts of atmospheres.
“I’m thankful that I’m able to introduce this sport to a new deographic and you can tell they are really enjoying it so I hope it inspires people to pick up rackets.”
