Alex Eala and her Indonesian partner Janice Tjen are moving on to the quarterfinals of the WTA 500 Abu Dhabi Open after carving out a hard-earned doubles victory that underlined their growing chemistry and competitive nerve on the big stage.
The Southeast Asian duo outlasted Canadian star Leylah Fernandez and French veteran Kristina Mladenovic, 7-5, 3-6, 10-6, in a tense round-of-16 showdown at the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open early Wednesday morning, Philippine time.
With the match pushed to a deciding super tiebreak, Eala and Tjen held firm under pressure, breaking a 6-all deadlock with four straight points to seal their place in the last eight.
The result carried particular significance given the pedigree of their opponents. Mladenovic, now 32, is a multiple Grand Slam champion in women’s and mixed doubles, while Fernandez remains one of the tour’s most dangerous competitors across formats.
Against that backdrop, Eala and Tjen’s composure in the closing moments stood out as a statement win rather than a fortunate escape.
The match itself was a test of resilience. After dropping the opening two games, Eala and Tjen quickly settled, stringing together three straight games to take control. Locked at 5-5 in the first set, they capitalized on a crucial break opportunity in the 12th game to steal the set and shift the momentum their way.
Fernandez and Mladenovic responded in the second, forcing the contest into a deciding tiebreak where experience seemed to favor the Canadian-French pairing—until Eala and Tjen flipped the script with fearless shot-making at the net and steady service returns.
Their advance sets up a quarterfinal clash against either the Ukrainian sisters Lyudmyla and Nadiia Kichenok or the pairing of Spain’s Cristina Bucsa and China’s Shuai Zhang, another formidable test as the tournament intensifies.
Eala continues to enjoy a productive week in Abu Dhabi, also reaching the singles round of 16, while Tjen exited the singles draw after bowing to fifth seed Liudmila Samsonova.
Still, it was their doubles performance that delivered a moment of celebration for Filipino fans and overseas supporters alike, as Eala and her partner proved they belong deep in the draw—now just one win away from the semifinals.