(UPDATE) 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.
After the WTA 500 Abu Dhabi Open, Eala will continue her Middle East swing in Qatar and Dubai.
Eala is listed among the players at the qualifying stages of the Qatar Open and Dubai Tennis Championships, which are both 1000-level WTA tournaments.
The Qatar Open is set from February 8 to 14, right after the Abu Dhabi Open which will end on Feb. 7.
Eala was looking for a quarterfinal berth at the Abu Dhabi Open singles at press time Wednesday night in Manila, and aiming for a doubles semifinal berth with Indonesian Janice Tjen Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Dubai Tennis Championships will follow the Qatar Open, rolling from Feb. 15 to 21.
In most cases, a top 50 player like world no. 45 Eala should be a shoo-in at the main draw of a 1000-level tourney.
The Qatar Open and the Dubai Tennis Championships both sport a smaller draw, though, having 56 only instead of the usual 96.
The direct entries for these kinds of tournaments are given to the top 40 to 45 players only, with the remaining slots awarded to wildcards like high-profile or promising players and local favorites.
Eala officially made the top 45 last Monday only, her latest rank missing the entry deadline for both tournaments which is usually weeks before play.
Thus, Eala must earn her main draw spot through the qualifiers.
Some of the players who are already in the main draw of both the Qatar Open and the Dubai Tennis Championships are Amanda Anisimova, Mirra Andreeva, Maya Joint, Emma Raducanu, Australian Open champ Elena Rybakina, and world no. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.
Some players joining Eala in the qualifiers of both tournaments are Tjen, Cristina Bucsa, Hailey Baptiste, Magda Linette, and Kimberly Birrell.
World no. 4 Anisimova is the defending champ at the Qatar Open while no. 7 Andreeva is the reigning titlist at the Dubai Tennis Championships.