By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Negrense Alexandra Eala scored the biggest win of her season after defeating World’s No. 8 Jasmine Paolini of Italy, 6-1, 7-6 (7), to advance to the Round of 16 of the WTA 1000 Dubai Tennis Championships in the United Arab Emirates yesterday morning (Philippine time).

The 20-year-old Eala dominated the opening set before showing resilience in a tense second set against the 30-year-old Paolini, a former champion in Dubai.

After letting a 5-3 lead slip and falling behind 5-6, Eala regained her composure in the tiebreak, where she saved two set points and produced clutch offense and defense to seal the straight-sets victory in one hour and 40 minutes.

The triumph marked Eala’s biggest victory of the year, as she defeated a Top 10 opponent on one of the sport’s biggest stages.

“All the emotions are coming because the tension was so high, especially during that second set. So I’m really happy to have gotten through,” Eala said.

“[Paolini] is a great opponent, obviously being Top 10 and a former champion here. So to be able to compete with her at this level is a great achievement for me,” Eala added.

She also credited the strong Filipino support inside the stadium for helping her stay composed during the decisive moments.

“In the tiebreak, I was trying everything to keep myself in check, and in the [changing] events, I was thinking this stadium was full of Filipinos. So I really had to give everything I got,” she added.

Eala’s victory secured her a place in the Round of 16, where she will face Romania’s Sorana Cirstea, who upset No. 14 Linda Noskova, 6-1, 6-4, in her own Round of 32 match.

The upcoming match will be a rematch of their previous meeting at the 2024 Madrid Open, where Cirstea edged Eala in three sets, 3-6, 7-6, 6-4./ASC, WDJ