Alex Eala unleashed her inner beast to overcome a second-set stumble and scored a 6-3, 7-5 win over Belarus’ Yuliya Hatouka to barge into the singles quarterfinal round of the W100 Dubai Open at the Habtoor Grand Resort Wednesday, Dec. 4.

Tied at 5-all in the second frame, the 19-year-old Eala proved she has a heart of a lion, firing timely hits and a defensive masterclass to overcome Hatouka’s final salvo in their 1 hour and 40 minute Round of 16 clash.

The hard-earned win brought Eala in the quarters where she will battle much holder Japanese Kyōka Okamura, who stunned Turkish Berfu Cengiz (6-4, 6-3, 6-0) and Slovenian Dalila Jakupovic (6-3, 6-2) in her previous contests.

On the other hand, the two-time Asiad bronze medalist whipped Russian qualifier Rada Zolotareva, 6-2, 6-3, in her first assignment in the singles division.

Fresh from leading the Nationals for a promotion in the BJK Cup last week, Eala strutted her wares anew as she immediately made her presence felt against Hatouka in the first canto.

Though it looked like the momentum was on her side, the Belarusian netter was able to level the score in the second frame after Eala squandered a 4-2 lead.

But that was Hatouka’s last run as Eala regained her composure to take the two straight sets.

Meanwhile in the doubles category, the Asiad two-time bronze winner displayed her tenacity and chemistry with Greece’s Valentini Grammatikopoulou as they pulled off a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Russian duo Daria Kudashova and Ekaterina Shalimova.

The Filipino-Greek pair now awaits the winner between the duo of France’s Amandine Hesse and Slovenia’s Nika Radisic against the Netherlands’ Isabelle Haverlag with Russian Elena Pridankina.