Defiant Tatiana Prozorova flips the script, booting Alexandra Eala out after three-hour marathon at S’pore Open
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Tatiana Prozorova defeating Alexandra Eala during their women’s singles round-of-16 match at the Singapore Tennis Open at OCBC Arena on Sept 24.
ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO
Shamir Osman
- Russia's Tatiana Prozorova defeated crowd favourite Alexandra Eala of the Philippines to advance to the Singapore Tennis Open quarter-finals.
- China's Wang Xinyu also booked her spot in the last eight with a win over qualifier Joanna Garland.
- Australian Talia Gibson edged out Viktoria Morvayova and will meet seventh seed Maria Sakkari next.
AI generated
SINGAPORE – Soon after Tatiana Prozorova served to open the round-of-16 match at the Singapore Tennis Open presented by BNP Paribas on Sept 24, it was evident that a broad demographic within the throng had come to support her opponent, Alexandra Eala.
In the 4,000-capacity OCBC Arena that was packed to the rafters, there was a wide array of voices – men, women, young girls and young boys – all taking turns to sing the same refrain: “Let’s go, Alex, let’s go.”
But there was one voice that rang out just before the darling of the Philippines lined up to serve for her fifth set point of the first set that captured the thick tension in the air.
“Finish it,” he shrieked, pulling the “it” that screeched like sharp claws across a chalkboard.
And to the consternation of the partisan crowd, it was the loveably defiant Prozorova who eventually did just that – taking three hours and nine minutes – to win 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 in what was a roller coaster of a scrappy battle.
This match pitted world No. 180 Prozorova against the darling of the Philippines, perched 162 spots above, but played out nothing like the David-versus-Goliath affair some may have expected.
Eala needed seven set points to close out the 66-minute first set 6-4, with Prozorova visibly frustrated, alternating between standing petulantly still, tossing her racket in the air and dropping it to the ground.
Even in her frustration, Prozorova’s defiant streak was evident for all to see – jaws dropped as the Russian dropped to the ground to do a couple of push-ups in the midst of battling to stay in the first set.
The second set ran even longer – 69 minutes – and Prozorova grew in her defiance.
Tatiana Prozorova facing Alexandra Eala during the Singapore Tennis Open women’s singles round-of-16 match at OCBC Arena on Sept 24.
ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO
She did not flinch when a ball boy threw her a ball she did not ask for, recovered from lining up to serve to the wrong side of the court.
She even shook her hips and swung her hands from side to side – in rhythm – as another fervent Eala fan sang “Go, Alex Eala!”
She took the set 7-5.
As Prozorova grew from strength to strength in the third, a section of the crowd started to get behind her in yet another topsy-turvy set.
At 4-3 in the third, Prozorova broke Eala’s serve without any response from the Philippine star, raising her left fist to the sky after each point.
It was a forehand cross-court winner with which she closed out the match, and Prozorova spread her hands out wide, staring at the ceiling of the OCBC Arena, perhaps taking in the moment – her first victory over a player ranked in the top 20.
A frustrated Alexandra Eala during the Singapore Tennis Open women’s singles last-16 at the OCBC Arena on Sept 24.
ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO
“I don’t have any words right now to describe my emotions, my feelings. I knew she will fight and I knew I will fight,” she said in her on-court interview, speaking over the cacophony after the game. “Wow, I just did it! I just believed in myself till the end.”
Later, she told reporters that she did not expect to win the match.
“I just had the feeling that I should fight till the end and believe in myself – and just do what I usually do. And it worked because sometimes you don’t need to think about the future, what you can do or what you can’t do. Just believe, trust, and work.”
When asked where she found that battling spirit, Prozorova pointed to pre-match sugar consumption.
“I ate a lot of desserts today,” she quipped. “Maybe it also told me, ‘Hey, c’mon, let’s go, fight!’”
After her loss, Eala said: “I fought, I did everything I could on court. I think Tatiana played really well today. I think first I just have to – like every loss – accept the fact that maybe she performed better today, and then look at it.
“I definitely wanted to go further, like in every tournament. But I think being in South-east Asia is extra special, feeling the support, and not just from the Filipinos.”
Tatiana Prozorova hugging her husband and coach Alexander Prozorov after winning against Alexandra Eala at the Singapore Tennis Open on Sept 24.
ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO
On her stint in Singapore, the Filipina world No. 18 added: “I’ve been coming here ever since I was young, so to be back as a top 20 player and a (tournament) seed, and being able to experience this city in a professional way, being surrounded by family – it’s a really nice experience to have.
“At the end of the day, it’s more than tennis for me. Seeing my growth, seeing how I feel as a person, I think my first tournament here I was probably eight – I’m 21 now. So yes, it’s nice to see how far I’ve come.”
The win sees Prozorova book her ticket to the quarter-finals, against China’s world No. 40 Wang Xinyu, who beat qualifier Joanna Garland 7-5, 6-4.
The crowd at the OCBC Arena backed the 24-year-old, who held her nerve in a tight opening set before breaking clear in the second, winning eight of the final 12 games to close out the match and continue her run at the WTA 500 event.
In the day’s other match, Australian Talia Gibson edged out Viktoria Morvayova 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-1) in a tense 138-minute battle. Both sets were decided by tiebreaks, with Morvayova seeing her serve broken just once but unable to force a decider.
In the quarter-finals, world No. 63 Gibson will face seventh seed Maria Sakkari, who beat Japan’s Nao Hibino 7-5, 6-1 in the round of 16.