MANILA – Alexandra Eala pulled off a stirring comeback to beat Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus, 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(5), on Wednesday night (Thursday in the Philippines) and book a spot in the quarterfinals of the Abu Dhabi Open singles event.
The 20-year-old Filipina appeared headed for defeat in the deciding set after dropping the first four games. She managed to close the gap to 2-4, only for Sasnovich to surge again to a 5-2 lead.
Eala refused to back down, reeling off four straight games to move ahead 6-5. Sasnovich steadied herself to force a tiebreak at 6-6, setting the stage for a tense finish.
The breaker went down to the wire, with Sasnovich briefly edging ahead 5-4. Eala then took control, scoring the final three points to clinch the match and complete the comeback.
“Napasubo talaga ako dun,” Eala said after the match.
The contest was tightly fought throughout. Sasnovich struck five aces and finished with 121 total points, while Eala posted 111.
Both players were efficient on serve, with Eala making 71 percent of her first serves compared to Sasnovich’s 69 percent.
Break-point opportunities came often, as Sasnovich converted six of 11 chances while Eala made five of 17.
Eala returns to action on Thursday night (Friday in the Philippines) in the doubles quarterfinals with partner Janice Tjen against Zhang Shuai and Cristina Bucca./PN
