Alex Eala beats Sorana Cirstea in straight sets at Dubai Championships

Alex Eala put on another strong display in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships as she beat Sorana Cirstea to book her place in the quarter-finals of the tournament.

The 20-year-old was the superior player throughout the majority of the match on Centre Court on Wednesday night.

Eala entered the match fresh off a huge win against world no 8 Jasmine Paolini in the previous round which she also won 2-0.

It was easy to see Eala was beaming with confidence, but Cirstea proved to be a tough test in an opening set which was tight.

At four games each the Romanian went 5-4 up only for the Filipina star to quickly level the scores up again, before breaking Cirstea’s serve for the first time in the match to make it 6-5.

The fan favourite then fought hard to win the final game of the opening set to give herself a 1-0 lead in front of the Dubai crowd who cheered her on.

Eala flew out of the traps in the second set and broke Cirstea’s serve to go 1-0 up before winning the next game as she frustrated the 35-year-old.

It quickly unravelled for the former US Open quarter-finalist, as Eala secured another break of serve and comfortably held in the next game to surge 4–0 ahead, firmly in control and on course for a place in the quarter-finals.

Cirstea, visibly frustrated at times by unforced errors, refused to go down without a fight and clawed a game back, but Eala was determined not to allow the more experienced player to build any momentum and swiftly restored control to lead 5–2.

Up to that stage, the second set had appeared almost flawless for Eala, perhaps too good to last, and it nearly didn’t. Her opponent suddenly found a burst of energy, stringing games together to close the gap to 5–4 and raising the prospect of a deciding third set.

However, Eala wasn’t about to throw away all of her hard work as she went on to win the final game of the set to continue her journey in Dubai.

It won’t get any easier for Eala who will now prepare to face possibly the toughest challenge of her career in Coco Gauff.

The world no 4 is the top seed in the tournament following the exit of Elena Rybakina on Wednesday afternoon, leaving the American as perhaps the favourite.

Gauff put together a determined run to the quarter-finals, showing resilience and composure under pressure. Seeded third, she received a first-round bye before opening her campaign with a straight-sets win over Anna Kalinskaya, 6–4, 6–4. Gauff handled tricky conditions well, relying on her strong returning and defensive skills to control the key moments and avenge a previous defeat to the Russian at the same tournament.

Her biggest test came in the round of 16 against Elise Mertens. After dropping the first set 2–6, Gauff found herself under immense pressure in the second and was forced to save three match points in a tense tiebreak, which she edged 11–9.

Riding that surge of momentum, she raised her level in the deciding set and closed out a 6–3 victory to book her place in the last eight.

Speaking after another incredible victory Eala says she’s proud of the journey she has been on in Dubai despite the outcome of her quarter-finals match against Gauff.

She said: “It’s going to be a great opportunity for me, win or lose tomorrow I think it’s great for me to learn against a player like Coco.

“People would kill to play against a player like her, let alone in a quarter-final here in Dubai so it’s something that I’m super excited for.

“It would be up there as one of my best ever wins if I was to beat Coco but whatever happens the most important thing for me is to just learn from the experience.”