Alexandra Eala is set for a second encounter with World No. 2 Iga Swiatek in the Mutua Madrid Open second round, just a month after her surprising victory over Swiatek in the Miami quarterfinals. The Filipina wild card earned her spot in the rematch by defeating Viktoriya Tomova 6-3, 6-2 in 1 hour and 16 minutes on the opening day.
Eala`s impressive performance reaching the Miami semifinals, where she also overcame Jelena Ostapenko and Madison Keys, propelled her into the Top 100 rankings for the first time, reaching a personal best of World No. 72. Her 6-2, 7-5 win against Swiatek was a significant upset, being only the third time the Pole has lost on tour to a player outside the Top 100, which explains the high anticipation for their upcoming match.
Eala attributes her success in Miami partly to her focus on `professionalism,` but she has already put that event behind her, starting fresh.
Following her win over Tomova, she commented, “Now that things have calmed down, I try not to dwell on Miami too much. Naturally, it comes up when people ask, but I know I`ll have plenty of time in the future to remember those moments. The tour continues, competition moves forward, so my full attention is on Madrid now.”
The 19-year-old is competing in her second event since Miami. Last week, as the top seed at the Oeiras WTA 125, she was defeated in the second round by Panna Udvardy. However, she recovered impressively against Tomova in Madrid, displaying aggressive play with 27 winners compared to Tomova`s seven, and converting six out of nine break points to secure her first-round victory in Madrid for the second consecutive year.
Meanwhile, defending champion Swiatek aims to improve her recent results as the clay court season picks up pace. She lost in the Stuttgart quarterfinals last week to Jelena Ostapenko, marking her sixth defeat in six matches against the Latvian. Swiatek hasn`t reached a final since Roland Garros last year. A win against Eala in Madrid, on her favored clay surface, would be a crucial start towards defending her title and overcoming her Miami loss.
Eala herself isn`t anticipating a repeat of their last match`s circumstances.
She stated, “I truly believe every match unfolds differently. Even when facing the same opponent, whether it`s next year in Miami or Madrid, it will be a completely new situation compared to our previous encounter.”
Rupert Caldwell