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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider The rematch: Alex Eala battles Iga Swiatek in Madrid Open

The rematch: Alex Eala battles Iga Swiatek in Madrid Open

Published Apr 24, 2025 02:41 am

At A Glance

  • Alex Eala braces for another big battle in her promising career as she faces world No. 2 Iga Swiatek in the second round of the Mutua Madrid Open in Spain Thursday, April 24.

Alex Eala braces for another big battle in her promising career as she faces world No. 2 Iga Swiatek in the second round of the Mutua Madrid Open in Spain Thursday, April 24.

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(WTA)

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

Swiatek, for her part, earned a first-round bye in the 128-woman field tournament.

Though Eala has beaten the five-time Grand Slam champion in the quarterfinals of the Miami Open last March 27, the Asian Games double-bronze medalist is focusing on the task at hand.

Swiatek is expected to bounce back against Eala who was a wild card in Miami before she stunned higher-ranked players in the likes of Madison Keys, Paula Badosa, and Jelena Ostapenko.

“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.

Eala got the best out of Swiatek via a 6-2, 7-5 triumph in the quarterfinals, marking her biggest win and making her the first-ever Filipino netter to beat a WTA Top 10 player.

“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 in the future.

“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.

Related Tags

madrid open Alex Eala Iga Swiatek
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