Eala out to prove a point in another duel with World No. 2 Swiatek

Tempo Desk
3 Min Read

By MARK REY MONTEJO

From Miami to Madrid.

And once again, Alex Eala faces the biggest foe of her young, promising career as she squares off with World No. 2 Iga Swiatek of Poland in the second round of the Mutua Madrid Open in Spain Thursday, April 24.

Fresh off a 6-3, 6-2 demolition of Bulgarian Viktoriya Tomova in the first round on Tuesday, the 19-year-old Eala tries to replicate her stunning win against Swiatek in their 8:10 p.m. duel – their second showdown in the span of one month.

Swiatek, for her part, advanced to the next round after earning a first-round bye in the 128-woman field tournament.

The Eala-Swiatek duel will be shown live on Premier Sports 2 beginning at 9 p.m. PS 2 is available through Blast TV and STVP.

Though Eala has beaten the five-time Grand Slam champion in the quarterfinals of the Miami Open last March 27, 6-2, 7-5, the Asian Games double-bronze medalist doesn’t want to think about it anymore, rather focusing herself on her current assignment.

“I try not to think about Miami so much [and] I definitely think that each match is a different story, even if it’s against the same player every time,” said Eala in an interview moments after her victory over Tomova.

“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,” she added.

But not Swiatek, off course.

Swiatek is eager to avenge her defeat to Eala, who was just a wildcard entry in the event she was expected to win.

But Eala had other thing in mind as she made the event her launching pad to fame and fortune as she also shocked higher-ranked players in the likes of Madison Keys, Paula Badosa, and Jelena Ostapenko.

“In my mind, I have my whole life to look back at those moments, and I’ll always have those memories,” Eala continued. “But, the tour goes on, so right now, I’m fully focused on Madrid.”

In a Mutua Madrid Open’s podcast, Eala admitted that she is a fan of Swiatek’s game, especially her intensity and footwork which she hopes to learn step by step.

“Iga is spectacular. She pushes you to the limit. I love her intensity and her footwork, it’s something I want to look at more to see how I can learn. Her serve is really good too,” Eala stressed.

Both Eala and Swiatek came up short in their previous competitions last week.

Share This Article