ALEX Eala is staying in the present and refusing to glance at the rearview mirror on the eve of her grudge match against world No. 2 Iga Swiatek.
As much as she’d like to relish her dramatic upset of the Polish ace a month ago at the Miami Open, the 19-year-old knows it's a whole new ball game when she takes on Swiatek at the WTA 1000 Madrid Open on Friday (Manila time).
Alex Eala breezes past Tomova, sets Madrid rematch with Swiatek
“I try not to think about Miami so much,” Eala said in an interview after beating Viktoriya Tomova in her opener on Tuesday night (Manila Time). “I definitely think that each match is a different story, even if it’s against the same player every time.”
While Eala has risen to No. 72 in the world and her confidence at an all-time high after the historic run to the semis in the WTA 1000 tournament in Miami, she knows Swiatek will be tougher to beat in her favorite clay surface.
The Polish star is a four-time French Open champion and the reigning titleholder in Madrid, where she outplayed reigning world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s final.
Made in Mallorca
Eala, for her part, is no stranger to clay either. Seven of her 10 junior titles — across both singles and doubles — were won on the surface, including a prestigious juniors championship at Roland Garros.
She has also trained at the academy of undisputed clay king Rafa Nadal in Mallorca since the age of 13.
The Filipina continued: “It doesn’t matter if I play her at the same time next year in Miami or in Madrid, it’s going to be a different story from the last one.”
While she has become the toast of Philippine sports, Eala said now’s not the time to enjoy the accomplishments.
There's a lot of time to do that when she's retired, the teenager added.
“In my mind, I have my whole life to look back at those moments, and I’ll always have those memories," said Eala. "But, the tour goes on, so right now, I’m fully focused on Madrid."
Eala and Swiatek’s second-round match is scheduled on Friday, with the time still to be determined.
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