MANILA, Philippines — Filipino tennis ace Alex Eala and Indonesian Janice Tjen advanced to the Abu Dhabi Open doubles quarterfinals after dispatching the Canadian-French duo of Leylah Fernandez and Kristina Mladenovic, 7-5, 3-6, 10-6, in the United Arab Emirates early Wednesday in Manila.
The Southeast Asian duo stayed composed after Fernandez and Mladenovic tied the count at 6-6 in the tiebreaker, stringing four straight points with Tjen delivering the final two points in the opening match (round of 16).
Eala and Tjen face the winner between the Spanish-Chinese pair of Cristina Bucsa and Zhang Shuai and the Ukranian twin sisters Lyudmyla and Nadiaa Kichenok, who are set to clash in their own round of 16 match Wednesday afternoon in Manila.