No. 2 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova was well-prepared for the challenge that Alexandra Eala — and the fervent Filipino diaspora crowd — would pose in the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open quarterfinals. It showed, as she notched a 6-3, 6-3 win in 1 hour and 30 minutes to reach her first semifinal of 2026.
Abu Dhabi: Scores | Draws | Order of play
“I saw the last match,” Alexandrova said in her on-court interview, referring to Eala’s remarkable comeback from 4-0 down in the third set — saving a match point — the previous day against Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
“She was fighting ’til the end. I knew it was going to be difficult but I think the atmosphere was amazing today — the crowd, I know they were cheering for her but I think the atmosphere was great. So I enjoyed my time on the court, and I’m happy I could finish in two sets because it was really difficult in the end.”
Despite the scoreline, the contest remained tense throughout, largely owing to Alexandrova playing her best tennis to gain a lead, but Eala playing her best tennis with her back to the wall. Alexandrova’s superior firepower — she struck 33 winners to Eala’s 15 — enabled her to break first in both sets. But both times, Eala upped her intensity whenever she was behind, searching for a potential turning point.
Alexandrova did well to avoid that happening and to keep her nose in front. The gulf in quality between the two players’ serves was crucial — despite landing 70% of her first serves, Eala won just 45% of those points (fewer than the 53% she won behind her second delivery). Alexandrova, by contrast, won 70% of her first-serve points. Consequently, for all Eala’s fighting spirit off the ground, the ability to find a winning serve or return was always in the 31-year-old’s pocket.
That proved to be the case in the final game of the first set, in which Alexandrova saved four break points before converting her first set point with a simple one-two punch. At 3-3 in the second set, having had her lead pegged back, Alexandrova again found a returning level that was too hot for Eala to handle.
“I was trying to remind myself, ‘You need to play until the last point,'” Alexandrova said. “I was trying to keep my focus on that — I think that really helped me. Not thinking about the outcome but more about the process.”
Both semifinals will pit a seeded player against an opponent breaking new ground on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz this week. Qualifier Sara Bejlek and wild card Hailey Baptiste will both be making their tour-level semifinal debuts on Friday.
In an all-qualifier quarterfinal, 20-year-old Bejlek delivered a flawless performance to defeat Sonay Kartal 6-0, 6-2 in just 63 minutes. The Czech won the first 10 games of the match by mixing up superb down-the-line redirects with deft drop shots, and held her nerve after Kartal got a brief foothold in the second set by extending the rallies. Bejlek will play Clara Tauson in the semifinals after the No. 3 seed came through 6-3, 6-4 over McCartney Kessler.
Alexandrova will face Baptiste, who triumphed in her third three-setter of the week 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 over No. 5 seed Liudmila Samsonova. It was the 24-year-old American’s second Top 20 win of the tournament — she also upset No. 4 seed Emma Navarro in the second round — and the fifth of her career overall.
Baptiste upsets Samsonova in Abu Dhabi to reach first career WTA semifinal
