Alex Eala falls short of repeat upset bid vs world No. 2 Iga Swiatek

MANILA, Philippines, April 25 ------ It was shaping to be another major shocker. Alex Eala, however, couldn’t sustain her giant-slaying ways as world No. 2 Iga Swiatek rallied to a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory in the WTA 1000 Mutua Madrid Open. The 19-year-old Filipina stood just a set away from repeating her monumental takedown of Swiatek, but the five-time Grand Slam champion regained her footing late in the second frame before dominating the decider. With the win, Swiatek avenged her stunning loss to Eala, 6-2, 7-5, in the Miami Open last month. 

Eala tried to use the same playbook as she went for her shots and showed she wasn’t daunted by Swiatek’s glowing credentials. The world No. 72 Eala sent a strong message from the get-go by breaking Swiatek in the very first game of the first set, then propelled herself to a 2-0 advantage. After the next four games saw both players holding serve, Eala broke Swiatek a second time in the seventh game to zoom ahead, 5-2. But the Polish star showed the stuff that made her win the Madrid Open the previous year, and inched closer at 5-4.  

Eala then made sure not to let her glorious start to slip away, converting on her third break point to go up one set. The Filipina lefty’s brilliant shotmaking and relentless returns forced Swiatek to uncharacteristically commit 25 errors in the 50-minute opening set. In the second frame, Eala once again broke Swiatek in the first game. But the former world No. 1 stepped up to the challenge and broke right back to level the count at 1-1. Even as Swiatek lost her serve anew in the fifth game to trail 2-3, the Polish star evened the score at 3-3 by scoring her own service break.  

The turning point came in the 10th game when Swiatek broke Eala a third time to win the second set, 6-4, and send their round of 64 tussle to a decider. Swiatek finally started a set ahead by surging to a 2-0 lead. Although Eala had her chances to get herself back in the match in the third game, she missed two potential winners that hit just the top of the net, allowing Swiatek to steal the game and stretch the gap to 3-0.  

The 5-foot-9 Eala finally got on the scoreboard in the fourth game, but Swiatek answered right back to build a seemingly insurmountable 5-1 lead. Eala displayed grit and would not go away easily, breaking Swiatek a final time in the seventh game. That proved to be the young Filipina’s last gasp, with Swiatek breaking her serve in the eighth to close out the match after two hours and 16 minutes.  

Swiatek will now advance to the third round where she will meet 31st seed Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic. Eala will have a few days to recuperate before she plunges back into action in the WTA 125 Challenger Catalonia Open, also in Spain, starting April 28. 

Source: rappler.com