Eala’s Desert Dream: 4th Match Point the Charm in High-Octane Stadium 3 Party

The legend of Alexandra Eala continues to grow.

On a chilly Friday night at Indian Wells, long after all other courts had finished up, Eala and her legions of fans kept the vibes flowing inside Stadium 3 as the Filipina sensation edged out Dayana Yastremska in a high-octane thriller, 7-5, 4-6, 7-5.

“It means the world to have this community behind me in such a prestigious tournament,” Eala said after her win in a press conference conducted well after midnight. “For them to make the effort to stay up late and stay in the cold and cheer me on, so it really added to the feelings and the emotions after the match.”

It could have gone either way. A determined Eala, making her debut in the place they call “Tennis Paradise,” made sure it went hers.

She rallied late in the match, breaking Yastremska as she served for the match at 5-4, and later converted her fourth match point to lock down the win and spark a boisterous celebration on Court 3.

The magical synergy between Eala and her fans, many of them toting flags of the Philippines, created another raucous party on Friday night, and Yastremska and Eala kept them on the edge of their seats with physical, high-intensity exchanges in a match that felt like a prize fight between two knockout specialists.

Eala, riding the energy of her fan base, edged out an opening set that featured two trades of breaks, taking the third and final break to win it, 7-5.

She fell behind in the second and fought valiantly to level up, but Yastremska saved a break point while serving for the set and closed out the set, 6-4.

The hard-hitting Ukrainian, sporting American Pam Shriver in her coaching box, took the lead in the final set with a break for 5-4, but she didn’t hold up under pressure as Eala punched back to level, and then kept the pressure on to inch past Yastremska, converting her fourth match point to score the win in two hours and 44 minutes.

“I just told myself to keep fighting, and I was still in the match. Yeah, like I said on court, I really had to dig deep for that one,” Eala said. “I think that this match could have gone either way. I don’t think there was a huge shift in momentum at any point.

“Of course I was down 4-5. She broke me to love, I think. So, like I said, I tried to remind myself I was still in the game and just kept there, stayed there, and kept fighting.”

Eala will face Coco Gauff in the third round. She recently lost to Gauff in the Dubai quarterfinals, 6-0, 6-2.

“It was a tough match for me last time. I think she played really well. So all I can do is take the learnings that I have from our last match and try to implement that in our next one,” she said.