Alex Eala stuns world number 8 to join 'Sweet 16' in Dubai

Alex Eala caught a big fish in world number eight Jasmine Paolini in Dubai. Richard Esguerra (file photo)

By Ivan Saldajeno

MANILA—Alex Eala scored her biggest win so far this year after beating Italian opponent Jasmine Paolini, 6-1, 7-6 (5), in the second round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships early Wednesday (Philippine Time).

Eala, ranked 47th in the world, stunned Paolini, ranked 8th, after delivering a masterful Set 1 that featured two aces and two converted break points.

Eala had a chance to close it out sooner when she raced to a 5-3 lead in Set 2, but Paolini saved three match points and even came close to forcing Set 3 after taking a 5-6 lead.

Eala won Game 12 to send Set 2 to the tiebreaker game, and Eala broke a 5-5 tie with back-to-back points to finally seal the match.

Up next for Eala in the WTA 1000 tournament later Wednesday is world number 32 Sorana Cirstea, who is fresh from ruling the WTA 250 Transylvania Open in Romania.

Cirstea booked her place in the Round of 16 after stunning world number 14 Linda Noskova, 6-1, 6-4.

On the other hand, it was a one-and-done stint for Paolini, the Dubai 2024 champ who drew a first-round bye.