DUBAI: World No. 4 Coco Gauff cruised into the semifinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Thursday night, comfortably overcoming a passionate partisan crowd and the object of its affection, Filipina sensation Alexandra Eala.
Gauff will now meet Elina Svitolina, the two-time Dubai champion who unceremoniously dumped her out of the Australian Open in straight sets last month.
American superstar and No. 3 seed Gauff had, by her own admission, played pretty poorly in her Round of 16 win over Elise Mertens on Wednesday, hitting 16 double-faults and being forced to save three match-points. Yet while she did not quite bring her A-game to the packed stadium to face Eala, such was the gap in quality that she still saw off her popular Pinoy opponent 6-0, 6-2 inside 68 minutes.
Eala looked tentative from the first game, quickly losing her first service game. Despite Gauff firing off the first of three first-set double-faults, the 20-year-old Filipina was then unable to capitalize, making the wrong decision, finding the net, hitting long. In the third game, she saved a breakpoint but then volleyed wide at deuce to hand advantage to her opponent, who gratefully took the next point to go 3-0.
In an era when sports followers are often accused of being fair-weather fans, the Kabayan crowd was commendable. They have passionately followed Eala’s every step this week and continued to support her against Gauff. Waving posters and signs — including one that read “UAE: United for Alexa Eala” — they cheered every point as if their voices alone could turn the tide.
They could not, of course, and the second set continued in the same vein. Gauff added two more breaks to take her winning run to 10 consecutive games, though Eala did finally get on the scorecard at 4-1.
It came after a prolonged point, punctuated by increasing noise from the crowd, with both players battling and shuttling between baseline and net. Eala, seeing her scoreboard 0 change to 1, raised an arm and sent the crowd wild.
Spurred on by the shouts yet against the run of play, the world No. 47 then broke to go 2-4, but any hope of a miracle from Manila was short-lived as Gauff came back and consolidated.
“I could have served a little better, but I made it in when it mattered,” Gauff said afterwards. “Alex is a tough competitor. Even when I was up, I knew she could come back at any given moment, I’ve seen her do it before.”
Addressing the raucous fans directly, she added: “I know you were mostly supporting Alex, but it is great to be on a crowded court. I’ve played this tournament (for) many years and to see this stadium full means a lot. Sometimes it’s tough when you’re playing against a ‘home crowd’, but I think it’s great for the sport, so keep being enthusiastic and keep rooting for your player.”
Only a year separates the two, yet while Eala won the 2022 US Open Junior title, Gauff won the US Open proper 12 months later. She added a second Grand Slam crown at Roland Garros last year and her record against players her junior now stands at 14-2. Experience counts, and Eala will benefit from her Dubai defeat.
“Obviously, I think the gap between us was pretty prominent,” said Eala, who is expected to rise to world No. 32 in the WTA rankings on Monday.
“That’s not to say that I’m so far out of reach from these players … The score says a lot, but I think I’m not so disappointed. I keep my head up. I feel good about the whole week, and how I’ve been doing. So, the biggest takeaway for me, honestly, is that I’m on the right path.”
Gauff will face Svitolina in Friday’s final four after the Ukrainian came back from a set down to beat surprise package Antonia Ruzic. Svitolina is the last player to win back-to-back titles in Dubai, and her march to a third crown continues after a determined display. It would mark her first title in Dubai since she became a mother and would put the 31-year-old level with Venus Williams, one behind record-holder Justine Henin.
Just hours after Eala’s fairytale ended it looked like another might emerge, this time with Ruzic as protagonist. The diminutive Croatian lost in first-round qualifying last Friday but battled through to the quarterfinals as a Lucky Loser. On Wednesday, her good fortune saw her through against top seed Elena Rybakina, who retired due to illness.
Under the center court lights on Thursday, Ruzic again showed the energy and skillset that beat Emma Raducanu and Anastasia Zakharova in the earlier rounds. The 23-year-old world No. 67 looked determined to seize her opportunity, grabbing a dominant 6-3 first-set victory.
But luck only holds for so long, and Ruzic’s early success seemed to stir her opponent, who awoke and wasted no time in responding to ultimately prevail 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.
“Antonia played unbelievable in the first set,” Svitolina said. “I had to really find the small holes in her game. I was very happy in the way I could bounce back in the second. Then I think I finally found my game in the third.”
The world No.9 will now face Gauff, who she swept aside in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open last month when she beat the American 6-1, 6-2.
