Alex Eala stunned world No. 8 Jasmine Paolini, 6-1, 7-6(7-5), on Tuesday morning to advance to the Round of 16 of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Backed by a loud Filipino crowd at Center Court, the 20-year-old dictated play immediately, racing through five straight games and securing the opening set in just 25 minutes.
Perhaps surprisingly, Eala turned her serve, widely seen as one of her biggest weaknesses, into a major weapon in the first set, making 67% of her first serves and winning an emphatic 86% of the corresponding rallies. She also had a 57% success rate on second serves—all while keeping her service games untouched by any break-point threats.
Paolini’s Second-Set Resistance
The Italian veteran responded with far greater urgency in the second frame, repeatedly denying Alex Eala chances to close the match.
Breaks were exchanged, three match points were erased, and Paolini briefly surged ahead at 6-5 after clawing back from a 5-3 deficit. Refusing to yield, Eala saved two set points and forced a tiebreak in a tense stretch that pushed the contest beyond an hour and a half.
Clean winners highlighted the early points of the breaker, leaving the pair locked at 4-4 before a slight dip from Paolini opened the door.
Alex Eala Seals Another Breakthrough
Eala capitalized with composed shot-making, earning additional match points and finishing the upset with a decisive forehand after one hour and 40 minutes.
The emotional celebration that followed reflected the magnitude of the triumph—her first Top 10 victory of the season and another milestone in a rapid rise that previously featured a deep run in the Miami Open last year and a recent quarterfinal showing in Abu Dhabi.
History followed the Rafa Nadal Academy alumna onto the Dubai courts, as she emerged as the first Filipina to make it to the Round of 16 since the tournament’s inception in 2001.
The pride of Quezon City further rewrote the record books by becoming the nation’s first player to reach the last 16 in multiple Tier I or WTA 1000 events since the system’s introduction in 1990.
Already her best campaign in Dubai, the triumph now sends Alex Eala to a Round of 16 clash against Romanian bet Sorana Cirstea.
