SEA-ster Act: Southeast Asians Eala, Tjen shining in Abu Dhabi

Alex Eala had found a trusted ally in her quest for glory in the United Arab Emirates.

With Indonesian Janice Tjen by her side, the 20-year-old Filipina displayed impressive form to pull off a 7-5, 3-6, 10-6 victory over the tandem of Filipino-Canadian Leylah Fernandez and French Kristina Mladenovic in the Round of 16 of the women’s doubles event of the WTA 500 Abu Dhabi Open early Wednesday (Manila time) at the Zayed Sports City International Tennis Center.

Eala, who soared to world No. 45 after starting her season on a fiery note, stressed that she is thrilled to join hands with her fellow Southeast Asian, who is also making huge stride after soaring to No. 47 in the latest Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) ranking.

“Go Southeast Asia! Let’s go!” Eala said.

The 23-year-old Tjen stressed that the feeling is mutual as bringing pride and joy to the entire region is an added motivation as they chase the title in the prestigious WTA 500 event.

“We just won our first match together and this is our first time playing together. Let’s go,” said Tjen, who has yet to face Eala outside the professional circuit like the Southeast Asian Games and the Asian Games.

But Eala and Tjen are far from done. After beating the Fernandez-Mladenovic tandem, they will test their mettle against the survivor of the Last 16 encounter of Christina Bucsa of Spain and Zhang Shuai of China against Ukrainian twins Lyudmila and Nadila Kichenok.

Whatever happens, Eala is expecting a huge crowd composed of Filipino expatriates and overseas workers to fill every corner of the venue to rally behind her.

In fact, during her 6-4, 6-3 victory over Zaynep Sonmez of Turkey in the opening round of the women’s singles event, Eala was delighted to see the venue virtually turning into her homecourt with the presence of a large group of Filipino spectators to cheer for her.

She said the electric atmosphere really pumped her up, reminding her of the kind of energy that the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center had during the WTA 125 Philippine Women’s Open last week.