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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Alex Eala, Indonesian partner show grit vs Fernandez, Mladenovic

Alex Eala, Indonesian partner show grit vs Fernandez, Mladenovic

Published Feb 4, 2026 09:17 am

At A Glance

  • The Southeast Asian pair of Filipina Alex Eala and Indonesian Janice Tjen showed poise under pressure to escape Leylah Fernandez and Kristina Mladenovic, 7-5, 3-6, 10-6, and barge into the quarterfinals of the WTA 500 Abu Dhabi Open in the United Arab Emirates early Wednesday, Jan. 4 (Philippine time).
(Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open)
(Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open)
The Southeast Asian pair of Filipina Alex Eala and Indonesian Janice Tjen showed poise under pressure to escape Leylah Fernandez and Kristina Mladenovic, 7-5, 3-6, 10-6, and barge into the quarterfinals of the WTA 500 Abu Dhabi Open in the United Arab Emirates early Wednesday, Jan. 4 (Philippine time).
With their round-of-16 clash going down the wire, Eala and Tjen stayed calm and collected in the tiebreak and broke a 6-6 tie by scoring four straight points to shut the door on the Canadian-French duo’s comeback bid.
The triumph carried extra weight, with the 32-year-old Mladenovic a proven force in the discipline as a multiple Grand Slam champion in both doubles and mixed events.
The victory from Eala and Tjen set them up a quarters showdown either against the pairs of formidable Ukrainian sisters Lyudmyla and Nadiia Kichenok or Spain’s Cristina Bucsa and China’s Shuai Zhang.
While Eala has advanced to the singles' Last 16 against Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich, the Indonesian was recently booted out after a 2-6, 2-6 loss to No. 5 seed Russian Liudmila Samsonova.
It was a lethargic start for both Eala and Tjen as they dropped the first two games in the opening set, but they quickly regained their footing and took the next three to seize a 3-2 lead.
Locked at 5-5, the pair showed composure against their battle-tested rivals in the ensuing games, most notably the 12th, where they converted a break point to seal the opening set.
Despite stumbling in the second, Eala and Tjen bounced back strongly and gave the overseas Filipino workers the moment of celebration with a gutsy finish.
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