By MARK REY MONTEJO
Alex Eala brushed aside concerns OVER her physical condition during her Round of 16 match against Japan’s Himeno Sakatsume in the WTA 125 Philippine Women’s Open on Wednesday night, Jan. 28.
Eala was seen wearing a bandage on her right thigh in her 6-4, 6-0 win over Sakatsume, but the 20-year-old ace stressed it was nothing serious and merely a precaution.
“It’s good. It’s normal that I have some physical hurdles. It’s normal. I’m competing a lot. I’ll take my time to assess after this presscon when I have more time and I’m a bit more chill,” said No. 2 seed Eala, who now enters the quarterfinals later Thursday, Jan. 29.
“I don’t think it’s anything serious. It just helps that I have this tape as a precaution. Health is the first priority, so you want to be really safe with how I approach these matters,” she added.
Despite a heavily bandaged leg, the WTA No. 49 was nothing but spectacular –particularly in the eighth game of the first set that saw her produce booming shots to hold her serve and tie the count at 4-all. Then in the 9th game, she was in beast mode, coming through with aggressive plays highlighted by a sizzling return to go up 5-4.
“I think I did save a lot of break points in that first set. I think just staying calm was a big part of it. Not panicking. I think just taking it point by point was a big key to pulling through that game,” Eala continued.
“I think that was a very crucial point of the match. I think just staying calm and staying focused was what I did,” she added.
Eala, the only Filipina standing in the inaugural WTA joust on Philippine soil, became more aggressive in the second set, firing howitzers much to the delight of the crowd, including some politicians.
Up next for Eala is No. 5 seed Colombian Camila Osorio as the two netters duke it out for a semis spot where one of them could have a possible date against Thai Lanlana Tararudee or No. 3 seed Argentinian Solana Sierra.
It will be the first WTA Tour meeting between Eala and Osorio.
“I’m in a good space right now. Obviously, the two wins really, they feel good to have these two wins at home. Nakikita din ‘yong mga tao na may panalo ako dito,” said Eala.
“And it feels good to have those two wins here at home, especially, it being the first edition of the WTA here,” she added. “But yeah, the expectations are still the same. My goals are still the same, which
