Alex Eala’s magical run at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships continued on Wednesday as she defeated world number 32 Sorana Cîrstea with a 7-5, 6-4 victory to reach the quarter-finals.
This is her second last-eight appearance in a WTA 1000 tournament, with her first appearance coming in last year’s famous Miami Open match. It’s also payback for Eala’s 3-6, 7-6, 4-6 defeat to the 35-year-old veteran at the 2024 Mutua Madrid Open
Both players had moments of instability on serve in the opening set, but actual breaks were difficult to come by and proved decisive when they came. Eala struck first in the third game, but Cîrstea immediately responded with an own goal to make it 2–2.
From then on the set settled into a series of tight holds, with extended baseline exchanges and disciplined service games pushing the score to 5-5.
The 20-year-old Filipina then elevated her return game in the 11th, applying pressure on the second serve to earn her second break of the set. Serving for the opener, she remained calm after her first delivery and closed it out in the 12th game to seize the early advantage.
The biggest difference in the first set was the unforced errors, where Cîrstea made 30, compared to just 19 from Eala.
Eala continued her rhythm in the second set, racing to a 4-0 lead after two clean breaks of Cîrstea’s serve. She dictated play from the return, stepping inside the baseline and forcing errors from the Romanian, who struggled to find consistency in longer rallies.
Cîrstea held its own with a lead in the fifth game and threatened in the sixth, earning two break point chances. However, Eala leaned on her first serve and held on to extend the margin to 5-1.
Cîrstea refused to fade and made a late push, breaking in the 7th and stringing together three games in a row to reduce the deficit to 5-4.
With the match heating up, Eala responded with a composed service game in the 10th. She scored her first serve, controlled the exchanges from the baseline and closed out the victory with authority.
A highly anticipated quarter-final match awaits Eala as she faces world number 4 Coco Gauff of the United States: a match between doubles partners at the 2025 Italian Open.
#Alex #Eala #reaches #quarterfinals #Dubai #Tennis #Championships