DUBAI: After weeks of anticipation, women’s week at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship burst into life on the opening day as two favorites of the Filipino expatriate community progressed to the second round in front of capacity crowds.
Rising star Alexandra Eala — still only 20 and already the highest-ranked Filipino in WTA history at world No. 40 — lined up against powerful American Hailey Baptiste, the world No. 39.
Baptiste, having qualified for the match as a lucky loser after falling to Slovakia’s Rebecca Sramkova in Saturday’s final qualifiers, she nonetheless cut an imposing figure compared to the diminutive Eala, who is four years her junior and making her Dubai debut.
Yet with every corner of center court transformed by the red, white and blue of the Philippines flag, Eala immediately tapped into the energy with an array of crowd-pleasing winners as she railed against Baptiste’s power advantage.
After trading breaks early on, Eala buzzed around court and stole the momentum with a break of serve before nervelessly holding to seal the set 6-4.
Baptiste valiantly held serve in the opening game of the second set before Elea suddenly found herself advancing to the next round after the American retired with an abdominal injury.
An expectant crowd was stunned and fell silent, but noise levels soared back to deafening as the victor addressed center court. “No-one likes advancing in this way,” she said.
“Being on tour, I am starting to discover how difficult it is to maintain your health physically. I’m really hoping that Hailey will bounce back soon.”
Turning her attention and affections to her adoring fans, Eala added: “I’m super happy to be in the next round.
“This tournament is serving up such great experiences for me, especially playing in front of the best crowd ever. Hello everyone, hello Kabayans. I’m very happy to advance to the next round.”
Earlier in the afternoon, Canada’s Leylah Fernandez, the world No. 27, and Russia’s Liudmila Samsonova, ranked 10 places higher, played out an epic three-set showdown that lasted close to three hours.
After a tense first set in which Samsonova eventually prevailed 7-5, Fernandez — who boasts Filipino heritage — battled back in a knife-edge second set.
The 23-year-old unleashed a series of immaculate winners to sail into a 5-2 lead, before a resurgent Samsonova won three consecutive games to wrestle back momentum and level the set at 5-5.
The Russian’s mini comeback flattered to deceive however, as Fernandez held her serve and then immediately broke serve to clinch the set 7-5 and force a deciding set.
With Fernandez moving into a 2-0 lead in the early throes of the third set, Samsonova suddenly found herself holding two break points and a chance to regain her match footing.
Fernandez, buoyed by a partisan crowd that reveled in celebrating her Filipino ancestry, dug deep. Occasionally scurrying and battling to stay in points, she produced winners under pressure and benefited hugely as Samsonova’s unforced errors tallied up.
Brimming with confidence, Fernandez surged into a seemingly unassailable 5-0 lead in the third set, only for the never-say-die Samsonova to hit back with three quick games in a row.
Serving for the match for a second time, Fernandez regained her composure to hold serve and eliminate the 13th seed.
After signing dozens of autographs on caps, T-shirts, balls, souvenir programs, and anything frenzied fans could find for a signature, Fernandez was quick to acknowledge the acclaim she received from fans at the tournament.
“It definitely felt different tonight,” she said.
“I remember the past couple of years I’ve played day matches, sometimes first on, so there wasn’t a lot of fans. Today, there were a lot more and to see so many fans come watch women’s tennis means a lot, it shows the sport is growing, so I’m very happy.”
When asked if she feels a type of home advantage in Dubai, she added: “Yeah, actually, kind of. It does feel nice because you kind of feel at home. It helps a lot.
“Sometimes when you’re travelling so much you forget why you play tennis and fans always help you to remember. To feel that warmth, that love, and the passion that they have is a lot of fun.”
The final match of the night had the Czech Republic’s Sara Bejlek, ranked No. 38 in the world, needing only 75 minutes for a 6-2, 6-2 dismantling of Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez.
Britain’s Emma Raducanu, another massive Dubai favorite, will face a first-round tie against Italian qualifier Elisabetta Cocciaretto on court two at 3 p.m.
