Dennis Gasgonia

Article (news)

Dyan Castillejo

ABS-CBN News

(UPDATED) Alex Eala’s impressive singles campaign at the Abu Dhabi Open came to an end after a hard-fought quarterfinals loss to second seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, with the world No. 11 Russian advancing following a straight-sets victory.Alexandrova triumphed 6-3, 6-3. The match opened at a blistering pace as the first game alone stretched to four deuces before Alexandrova finally held serve for a 1-0 lead.The 31-year-old Russian, who reached a career-high ranking of No. 10 in October 2025, immediately asserted her power from the baseline, threatening to pull away early.Eala nearly found herself down 0-3, but the Filipina showed resilience, finding her range and breaking serve to trail just 1-2. Energized by the crowd, Eala displayed superb court coverage to counter whenever possible. Still, Alexandrova’s consistency and depth proved decisive as she maintained control to lead 4-2.The rallies intensified midway through the set, with both players trading thunderous shots from the baseline. Eala earned two break points at 15-40, but Alexandrova rose to the occasion, producing clutch points to escape danger before closing out the opening set, 6-3.Alexandrova carried that momentum into the second set, continuing to strike the ball cleanly and with authority to build a 3-1 advantage. Eala refused to give away easy points, but the Russian’s power game kept her narrowly ahead at 4-3 as the set progressed and came to an end, 6-3. Despite the partisan crowd support for Eala, Alexandrova stayed composed throughout the encounter. “The crowd—I know they’re cheering for her, but the atmosphere was great,” Alexandrova said after the match.Acknowledging Eala’s quality and fighting spirit, she said: “I knew she was going to play good. She’s a great player. I saw the last match.”Alexandrova credited her mindset for seeing the match through.“I was trying to remind myself you need to play until the last point,” she said. “I was trying to keep my focus on that… not thinking about the outcome but more on the process.”Eala shifts her focus to playing doubles with Janice Tjen in the quarterfinals after ample rest against Cristina Bucsa and Zhang Shuai.

Filipina tennis star Alex Eala bowed to higher-ranked Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova in two sets during their quarterfinals clash in the Abu Dhabi Open semifinals late Thursday (Manila time).

Filipina tennis star Alex Eala bowed to higher-ranked Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova in two sets during their quarterfinals clash in the Abu Dhabi Open semifinals late Thursday (Manila time).

Alex Eala bows out of Abu Dhabi quarterfinals in loss to Russia's Alexandrova

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Alex Eala bows out of Abu Dhabi quarterfinals in loss to Russia's Alexandrova

Dyan Castillejo,

Dennis Gasgonia,

ABS-CBN News

Published Feb 05, 2026 10:44 PM PHT

|

Updated Feb 06, 2026 12:37 AM PHT

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Alex Eala

Abu Dhabi Open

Tennis

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