By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Alex Eala is all gas no breaks after overpowering Yuliya Hatouka of Belarus- 6.3, 7.5- to formalize her seat in the quarterfinals of the ongoing International Tennis Federation (ITF) W100 Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge in Dubai on December 4, 2024.
The Filipina tennis sensation picked up her momentum coming off a scintillating 2-0 victory over Russia’s Rada Zolotareva in the Round of 32 stage.
Against Hatouka, Eala tore a playbook page from her game versus Zolotareva and relied on her down-the-line forehands to neutralize the Belarusian’s net attack prowess.
Eala was all over the court pummeling the ball and seized full control of the match after scoring a much-needed break point to pull away in the first set.
With Hatouka threatening to counter with her own break point after leading 30-15 in the next service possession of Eala, the Filipina changed the complexion of the set after scoring a service ace and a drop ball to secure the opener and the 1-0 lead.
Just when Eala thought she could maintain her point of attack by banking on her forehand strokes, Hatouka revised her game plan and stayed in the baseline to contest the Filipina’s groundstrokes.
Her revamped tactic worked like magic in the first half of the second set and steered Hatouka within striking distance but Eala pulled off one final rally to regain footing once again.
Eala targeted Hatouka’s backhand side, a weakness that she saw in the duration of the match and capitalized on that momentum-changing move.
Despite back-to-back points generated by Hatouka to keep the last set longer, Eala dealt the final blow after scoring an overhead smash when the Belarusian’s forehand lob went short and hit the no-man’s land.
Before advancing to the Round of 16, Eala scored a one-sided sweep over Zolotavera in the first round, 6.2, 6.3.
Eala will be bracing for a tough playoff round as she is set to square off against Kyoka Okamura in the upcoming quarterfinals.
