Metro Manila, Philippines – Alex Eala pulled off a near miraculous come-from-behind victory over Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus, 2-6, 6-4, 7-6, to reach the Abu Dhabi Open women’s singles quarterfinals on Thursday, Feb. 5.

The 20-year-old Eala showed grit and composure beyond her years, fighting for every single point until the very last ball dropped in the statement win.

Sasnovich put Eala to the brink of elimination as she rushed to a 4-0 lead in the third set.

But the Filipino tennis star won back-to-back to cut the deficit, 4-2, only for Sasnovich to move closer to the win after seven games in the third set.

With momentum switching to her side, Eala was able to save match point and found ways to level the match at 5-5 and eventually snatch the triumph in the tiebreak.

“I’m so happy. I can’t believe it,” Eala said shortly after the match that lasted for nearly three hours.

Eala will face world no. 11 Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia in the women’s singles quarterfinals.

Eala will also compete alongside fellow Southeast Asian player Janice Tjen of Indonesia in the women’s doubles quarterfinals later today.