00:00Filipina tennis star Alex Ayala rises to a new career-high No. 31 in the latest WTA rankings
00:06released Monday, February 23, this after her quarterfinals run in the Dubai Tennis Championships.
00:12Ayala advanced to the quarterfinals of a WTA 1000 tournament for the second time in her career.
00:18In Dubai, Ayala beat Hailey Baptiste in a walkover in the round of 64,
00:22upset world No. 7 Jasmine Paulini in the round of 32, and defeated Sorana Kirsti in the round of 16.
00:29That set up a quarterfinal clash with two-time Grand Slam champion and world No. 4 Coco Goff,
00:33who dominated Ayala. Goff thanks Ayala for bringing a new demographic to the sport,
00:38as she attracts huge crowds to the tournaments. Players like 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak
00:44Djokovic described packed stadiums as a good problem. Goff says,
00:48I know sometimes it's tough when you're playing against a home crowd, but I think that it's great
00:52for the sport, so keep being enthusiastic and keep rooting for your player. She shares her secret to
00:57not being affected by Ayala's fans. Whenever you guys are cheering for Alex,
01:01I was pretending that it was my name. I think that it helped me a lot. If you can't beat
01:04them,
01:04you've got to join them. Ayala heads to the United States next to compete in the prestigious Indian
01:09Wells Open.
01:10You're welcome.
01:10Let's go.
01:11Let's go.
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