Coco Gauff says Alexandra Eala fans are "great for the sport"

In the quarterfinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, Coco Gauff will face one of the toughest challenges in tennis—and she's relishing it.

Always a crowd favorite since her unexpected breakthrough as a 15-year-old at Wimbledon seven years ago, the American will find herself an underdog in rooting interest when she faces Alexandra Eala, and her legion of fans, for a spot in the quarterfinals.

Gauff seemed to know it was coming after she saved three match points to defeat Elise Mertens 2-6, 7-6(9), 6-3 in the third round on Wednesday, her first win from match point down in five years. In her on-court interview, she called out an increasing crowd for the match immediately set to follow, Eala's eventual 7-5, 6-4 win over Sorana Cirstea.

""I know you guys are probably here for Alex, so I'm sorry to make you wait!" she said, adding: "If I’m not mistaken I think some of you guys are cheering for me so I appreciate it a lot."

Later, she said that ride-or-die faithful, no matter whom they support, and the atmosphere they bring are "great for the sport."

"It's very fun, regardless if the crowd is for you or not," she said, recalling matches she played against Jasmine Paolini in Rome and Lois Boisson in Paris over the last 12 months.

While Eala will not be on home soil in a traditional sense when she faces Gauff in the last eight of the WTA 100 event, more than 450,000 Filipino expatriates currently live in Dubai. That makes up over 20% of the city's population. More than 700,000 live in the United Arab Emirates on the whole, and Eala was a similar crowd favorite as she played her way to the quarterfinals of the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open in Abu Dhabi earlier this month.

In Dubai, the 20-year-old credited vocal in-stadium support with helping her over the line in a 6-1, 7-6(5) upset of No. 6 seed and former champion Paolini in the second round after she failed to convert multiple match points earlier in the second set at 5-3.

Read more: Alexandra Eala takes out Jasmine Paolini in Dubai for third Top 10 win of career

"It's really such a blessing to be able to play in those sorts of atmospheres," Eala said. "I am really privileged and thankful that I'm able to introduce kind of this new world or new sporting world, women's tennis, to a new demographic. I think they're really enjoying it. I hope that it would inspire people to take up racquets, young girls and all women of all ages to take up sports."

"Especially this past year ... has brought me a lot of love and a lot of attention from the fans," she added "It does come with its set of struggles and set of sacrifices. But I think in the end I need to remind myself that this is what I've been working my whole life for. How many people would love to be in my position? I make it a point every day to really give my all and be grateful for what I have."

Eala will attempt to improve her short career record against Top 10 players to 4-2 when she faces Gauff for her first WTA 1000 semifinal showing since her breakout at last March's Miami Open.