Alexandra Eala vs Aliaksandra Sasnovich Tips, Prediction & Live Stream - Eala to reach Abu Dhabi quarter-finals

You could make a case that Eala is the most supported and popular tennis player in the world. The 20-year-old has garnered a seismic wave of support from her fellow Filipinos since bursting onto the scene last year and is selling out courts and stadiums at basically every tournament she enters. It's been a whirlwind rise and Eala is dealing with the spotlight pretty well, breaking into the world's top 50 - although she does have lots of points to defend coming up over the next couple of months. Sasnovich - owner of one of the quirkiest service motions of all time - has been in solid form to start the season and will want to make the most of her second chance in Abu Dhabi after entering the main draw as a lucky loser.

I think this will be a fairly close contest - Sasnovich is a wily veteran and her experience will give her an edge in some areas. However, Eala looked in great form in her opening match and when she's at her best, she's got more firepower and her ability to redirect pace is superior. I'm going to back Over 20.5 games, with Eala covering a small -1.5 games line.

Eala put together a meteoric rise in 2025, beating the likes of Iga Swiatek and Madison Keys to make the Miami Open semi-finals, along with finishing runner-up in Eastbourne and taking the 125 title in Guadalajara.

It was a promising start to 2026 for Eala as well - she advanced to the Auckland semi-finals, but blew a match point against Xinyu Wang.

The 20-year-old also suffered a heartbreaking loss in the first round of the Australian Open in front of one of the most patriotic crowds of the tournament, going down to Alycia Parks after winning the first set 6-0.

Eala returned home to the Philippines for the 125 event last week, but after two easy wins, fell in the quarter-finals to eventual champion Camila Osorio.

Accepting a wildcard into Abu Dhabi this week, Eala began her campaign with a solid 6-4 6-3 victory over her good friend Zeynep Sonmez. Eala spoke about the difficulties of playing someone you're close to on tour post-match.

Sasnovich has tumbled down the rankings over the last couple of years, but she's enjoyed a bright start to 2026 and looks on track to break back into the top 100 sooner rather than later.

The 31-year-old began the year by qualifying for Brisbane and advancing to the third round of the main draw, taking the scalp of Clara Tauson along the way.

Sasnovich once again came through qualifying, this time at the Australian Open, but she had the misfortune of running into Jasmine Paolini in the first round, suffering a straight sets defeat.

Qualifying was on the agenda once again for Sasnovich in Abu Dhabi - but this time she lost, going down to Sonay Kartal. However, the Belarusian received a lucky loser spot in the main draw and made the most of her good fortune, taking out Paula Badosa 6-4 3-6 6-1 to move into the second round.

Watch and bet on Alexandra Eala vs Aliaksandra Sasnovich live tennis from Abu Dhabi.

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