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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Alex Eala's Dubai run ends, bows to world No. 4 Gauff

Alex Eala's Dubai run ends, bows to world No. 4 Gauff

Published Feb 20, 2026 12:50 am  |  Updated Feb 20, 2026 01:52 pm

At A Glance

  • Alex Eala's breakthrough run at the WTA 1000 Dubai Tennis Championships came to an end at the hands of world No. 4 Coco Gauff, who handed the Filipina a 0-6, 2-6 setback in their quarterfinals showdown at the packed Aviation Club Tennis Centre early Friday, Feb. 20 (Philippine time).
(Screengrab from Premier Sports 2)
(Screengrab from Premier Sports 2)
Alex Eala’s breakthrough run at the  WTA 1000 Dubai Tennis Championships came to an end at the hands of world No. 4 Coco Gauff, who handed the Filipina a 0-6, 2-6 setback in their quarterfinals showdown at the packed Aviation Club Tennis Centre early Friday, Feb. 20 (Philippine time).
Overpowered in the opening set, the 20-year-old Eala struggled to find her footing as Gauff raced to a bagel behind relentless baseline pressure and sharp returns.
Eala showed grit in the second frame, halting a 0-4 slide by claiming two straight games to briefly swing the momentum and ignite the crowd.
But the surge proved short-lived as Gauff quickly regrouped, cleaning up her unforced errors and overcoming eight double faults, before reasserting control.
The American, then, closed out the final two games, sealing the win in one hour and seven minutes to book a semifinal duel with battle-tested and two-time champion Elina Svitolina, a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 winner over Antonia Ruzic.
The victory also served as sweet redemption for Gauff on Dubai soil after suffering a Round of 32 exit last year to fellow American McCartney Kessler.
“Yeah, I was a bit better today. I could have served a little bit better, but I made it in when it mattered,” said Gauff.
“Alex is a tough competitor and even when I was up, I knew that she could come back at any given moment. I've seen her do it before,” she added. 
Eala, on the other hand, wrapped up her Middle East swing that included stints in the WTA 500 Abu Dhabi and the WTA 1000 Qatar Open tournaments.
The world No. 47 still walked away with an impressive performance, opening her campaign by dispatching American Hailey Baptiste, 6-4, 0-1 (ret) in the opening round before delivering a statement win against No. 8 and 2024 champion Jasmine Paolini, 6-1, 7-6 (7), followed by a 7-5, 6-4 triumph over Sorana Cirstea.
"At the end of the day, I think there's definitely still a gap in terms of level between me and Coco and other players of her caliber," Eala said in her post-match press conference.
"My job is to try and close that gap, and I think I'm doing that quite well. So I'll keep working on it and hopefully next time it will be a bit tighter," she added.
Those marquee victories are expected to propel Eala well inside the Top 40, or potentially even higher, surpassing her previous career-best ranking of No. 40.
Meanwhile, No. 6 Amanda Anisimova eliminated reigning champion and world No. 7 Mirra Andreeva, 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7), to forge a semis meeting with Jessica Pegula, who outlasted Clara Tauson, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4.
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