In his first match on the WTA Tour against a young superstar who is only a year older, Alex Ila encountered a masterclass that he was unable to resolve despite already having won two Grand Slam tournaments.
The Filipino player bowed out to world No. 4 Coco Gauff in the quarterfinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, losing 0-6, 2-6 early Friday morning (Philippine time).
What was expected to be a high-level baseline exchange instead turned into a one-sided display of first-strike tennis from the 2025 French Open champion.
Questions remained about Gauff’s serve after she faced Elise Mertens in the round of 16, but she responded strongly.
Despite committing three double faults in the first set, Gauff dominated from the first delivery onwards, winning more than 80% of the points (compared to 27% for Ila). The American led the rally early, kept his returns deep and took advantage of Ila’s 15 unforced errors, limiting himself to just seven.
Gauff broke Ila in all three of his service games in the first set, sealing off Bagel with relentless pressure on the return and clean execution from both wings.
The theme continued in the second set, with Gauff breaking twice early and holding serve in the second game to take a 3-0 advantage.
However, in the fourth game, Gauff committed back-to-back double faults, giving the Filipino a break point. But the American quickly bounced back, relying on a heavy first serve and a sharp backhand to stay out of trouble and extend his winning streak to 10.
The small window provoked Ira’s resistance.
She showed off her comeback game by holding serve consistently in the fifth game and getting her first break in the sixth game to close the gap to 4-2.
But Gauff’s response was immediate and powerful. The world No. 4 broke back in the seventh game with relentless pressure on the return, and calmly served out in the eighth game for an authoritative straight-sets victory.
Despite the loss, Ila finished the tournament with many positive results.
She picked up another win over a top-10 opponent in the round of 32, dominating Italy’s Jasmine Paolini, and now holds a respectable record of 3 wins and 3 losses against similarly ranked opponents, a strong indicator of her progress on tour.
The 20-year-old Filipino is next expected to compete in the WTA 1000 event, the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, which begins on March 4, as he continues his climb to the sport’s biggest stage.
