Just one month after her stunning upset victory over Iga Swiatek in the Miami quarterfinals, Alexandra Eala is set to face the World No. 2 once again, this time in the second round of the Mutua Madrid Open. The Filipina wild card player secured this anticipated rematch by defeating Viktoriya Tomova in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2, in a match that lasted 1 hour and 16 minutes on the opening day of the tournament.
Eala`s impressive performance reaching the Miami semifinals, which included notable wins against Jelena Ostapenko and Madison Keys, propelled her into the Top 100 rankings for the first time. She currently holds a career-high ranking of World No. 72. Her 6-2, 7-5 win against Swiatek was a significant moment, marking only the third time the Polish star had lost a tour-level match to an opponent ranked outside the Top 100. Following such a remarkable upset, a swift rematch is understandably drawing considerable attention.
Eala, who previously highlighted `professionalism` as a key factor in her Miami success, has already moved past that achievement and is fully focused on the current challenge.
“Now that the dust has settled, I try not to think about Miami so much,” she stated after her win against Tomova. “Personally, of course, it crosses my mind when people ask about it – but in my view, I have my entire life ahead to look back on those moments, and I`ll always cherish those memories. However, the tour moves forward, competition continues, so right now, my full attention is on Madrid.”
The 19-year-old is competing in her second event since Miami. As the top seed in last week`s Oeiras WTA 125 tournament, she was defeated in the second round by Panna Udvardy. Nevertheless, she shrugged off that recent loss against Tomova, displaying aggressive, high-intensity tennis, hitting 27 winners compared to her opponent`s seven and converting six out of her nine break point opportunities to win her Madrid opener for the second consecutive year.
Defending champion Swiatek is also looking to improve her recent results as the clay court season enters a critical phase. She lost in the Stuttgart quarterfinals last week to eventual champion Jelena Ostapenko – her sixth loss in six meetings with the Latvian. Swiatek has not reached a final since Roland Garros last year. A win against Eala on her favored clay surface would be an important step towards building momentum in Madrid.
Eala, for her part, does not expect the upcoming match to unfold in the same way as their previous encounter.
“I definitely think that each match is a different story,” she commented. “Even when it`s against the same player every single time – it doesn`t matter if I play her at the same time next year in Miami or in Madrid next year, it`s going to be a different story than the last one.”
