Eala falls vs world No. 4 Gauff

Alex Eala's dream run in the Dubai Tennis Championships came to an end after a 0-6, 2-6 loss to world No. 4 Coco Gauff in the quarterfinal at the Aviation Club Tennis Centre in the United Arab Emirates on Friday (Manila time).

The 21-year-old Gauff was in control from start to finish as the match lasted for one hour and seven minutes despite playing against a loud Filipino crowd.

“I could have served a little bit better, but I made it in when it mattered. Alex is a tough competitor, and even when I was up, I knew that she could come back at any given moment," said Gauff, who previously played alongside Eala in the Italian Open last May in the women's doubles.

"I've seen her do it before, so yeah, thank you guys for coming out here. I know you were mostly supporting Alex, but I have to say it is great to be on a crowded court."

Eala, 20, wasn't able to hit the ground running in the first set as she got bageled by the defending French Open champion.

Down 0-4 in the second set, Eala tried to pump some life in her campaign, as she held her serve in the fifth game before breaking Gauff's serve in sixth game.

However, Gauff broke back to sweep the next two games as she marched to the semifinal in this prestigious Women's Tennis Association (WTA) 1000 tournament.

Dubai was Eala's last stop in ther Middle East swing after joining the Abu Dhabi Open and Qatar Open earlier in the month.

She will pocket $ 98,500 or roughly P 5.7 million for getting as far as the quarterfinal after beating the likes of world No. 39 Hailey Baptiste of the United States, No. 8 Jasmine Paolini of Italy and No. 32 Sorana Cirstea of Romania.

Eala is also expected to reach a new career-high rank of No. 32 in the WTA rankings in the coming days.

She will now take a well-deserved break before flying to the United States for the BNP Paribas Open and the Miami Open in March.