Alex Eala bounced back in doubles, teaming up with Indonesian Janice Tjen to take control early and claim the opening set, 6–3, against Spain's Cristina Bucsa and China's Shuai Zhang in their quarterfinal matchup of the Abu Dhabi Open Quarterfinals this Friday (PH Time) at the Zayed Sports City’s International Tennis Centre.
Eala and Tjen came out firing, racing to a 2–0 start before securing an early break to surge ahead 3–0 in Set 1.
Zhang and Bucศa managed to respond with a break of their own to get on the board at 3–1, but the Eala Tjen tandem quickly steadied, holding serve to restore a two game cushion.
Zhang and Bucศa stayed within striking distance by holding to make it 4–2, then taking the seventh game to trim the gap to 4–3.
Still, Eala and Tjen showed composure down the stretch, holding serve once more before breaking again to close out the set, 6–3, and grab the early advantage in the doubles quarterfinals.
