Second seed Ekaterina Alexandrova was the headline name to advance to the Abu Dhabi semi-finals on Thursday, with the world number 11 seeing off Alexandra Eala in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3.<\/p>\n
Alexandrova<\/a>, who has struggled for form at the start of 2026, provided a reminder of her quality with a convincing 91-minute victory<\/a> over the Filipino rising star.<\/p>\n The Russian won 70% of points behind her first serve, while breaking Eala<\/a> five times throughout the contest to\u00a0move into the last four of the prestigious WTA 500 event.<\/p>\n Next up for Alexandrova is American Hailey Baptiste<\/a>, who overcame a second-set wobble to defeat fifth seed Liudmila Samsonova<\/a> in a closely fought affair, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4<\/a>.<\/p>\n On the other side of the draw, third seed\u00a0Clara Tauson<\/a> proved too strong for McCartney Kessler<\/a> in a 6-3, 6-4<\/a> triumph, with the Dane fending off several break points in the second set to prevail.<\/p>\n Read more: Tauson downs Kessler in Abu Dhabi<\/a><\/p>\n Tauson will face Czechia\u2019s Sara Bejlek<\/a> in the last four after the 20-year-old cruised past Great Britain\u2019s Sonay Kartal<\/a> 6-0, 6-2<\/a> in just 64 minutes.<\/p>\n Both semi-finals will take place on Friday, with the showpiece event to follow on Saturday afternoon.<\/p>\n