A DREAM rematch between rising star Alex Eala and world No. 2 Iga Swiatek is officially set.
The 19-year-old Filipina secured her spot in the round of 64 against Swiatek after defeating world No. 64 Viktoriya Tomova of Bulgaria, 6-3, 6-2, in her WTA 1000 Madrid Open debut on Tuesday night (Manila time).
Eala gained momentum midway through the first set, breaking away from a 2-2 first-set tie by winning three straight games and never looking back to easily hurdle her opening assignment at the Manolo Santana Stadium.
READ 'Trailblazer' Alex Eala aims high, but keeps feet on the ground
With a breezy win wrapped up in just over an hour, Eala advanced to the second round where she will meet Swiatek - one of three top seeds she ousted in a breakthrough run to the semifinals of the Miami Open last month.
Swiatek, however, will be tougher to beat this time, being more comfortable on clay. The 23-year old Poland native has won the French Open four times and is the defending champion in Madrid, where she beat world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the finals.
Eala, though, is equally adept in clay, having spent most of her early years training at the Rafa Nadal Tennis Academy as a scholar.
Against veteran Tomova, the world No. 72 looked pretty confident with her strokes and moved a lot better than in her clay-season debut at the Oeinas Open in Portugal, where she was ousted in the round of 16 by Panna Udvardy last week.
The Eala-Swiatek grudge match is tentatively set on Friday.
Here is the match-clinching point:
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