By MARK REY MONTEJO
Like in the past, Alex Eala teetered on the edge, but once again, the lovely Filipina ace displayed her indomitable spirit to snatch the victory in her opening match in the prestigious Miami Open early Friday (Philippine time), March 20, in Florida.
Cheered on by her avid supporters – mostly Fil-Americans – after an opening set defeat marked by intense rallies, Eala recovered mightily and completed a remarkable 6-7 (8), 6-3, 6-3 win over jaded German veteran Laura Siegemund.
While she appeared to be a spent force after a grueling first set battle, Eala got her second wind in the next frame and she looked like a ‘fresh flower in full bloom’ as she dismantled her 38-year-old rival bit by bit with her pin-point shots much to the delight of her rabid fans in Manila who waited till the wee hours of the morning.
Chants of “Eala! Eala! reverberated in the large playing court after Eala sealed the win with another brilliant stroke after the 3-hour, 20-minute Round-of-64 collision.
“It means the world to me and it says a lot about my progress and how I’ve developed as a player and as a person,” said Eala.
“I came into Miami last year as a wildcard, now I’m in the third round again,” she added. “So I’m really, really happy and especially having been able to compete at this level today against an amazing fighter so I’m really happy.”
Her win over the one-time doubles Grand Slam champion in the Last 64 marked Eala’s second straight appearance in the round of 32.
In the same round last year, Eala sent shockwaves after bringing down 2025 Australian Open ruler American Madison Keys down to her knees with a 6-4, 6-2 win.
The victory arranged the No. 31 seed Eala a match against Poland’s Magda Linette, who defeated Iga Swiatek and spoiled the potential rematch between the Filipina ace and world No. 2. Linette took down Swiatek, 1-6, 7-5, 6-3.
After beating Keys, Eala gained more prominence after shocking Swiatek via a 6-2, 7-5 win in the quarters of her very first 1000 WTA event.
However, the Polish netter exacted revenge on the Filipina ace less than a month later at Madrid Open in Spain.
The first set was like a theater as Eala had several chances to close out the contest but failed. She trailed 2-5 in the tiebreak but tied the count at 6-all that had the crowd almost sitting on the edge of their sets in excitement and nervousness.
The German, however, showed her veteran poise to snatch the next two points and the set.
That setback, including an extended break by Siegemund in the locker, was enough to fire up Eala and went to dominate the next two frames.
Eala was at her best in the decider after she prevailed in multiple rallies and breakpoints, particularly, in the fourth and eighth game which had seven of the 12 BPs, before seizing a 4-1 breakaway that she ultimately preserved.
Eala edged Siegemund in first-serve points to win off 53-of-74 (71.6 percent) over the latter’s 55-of-93 (59.1 percent) despite slightly trailing behind in break points converted and saved, first set, and aces.
