MANILA, Philippines, March 24 ------ Beating a Grand Slam champion was so nice, Alex Eala had to do it twice. Eala claimed the biggest win of her blossoming career as she crushed reigning Australian Open queen Madison Keys, 6-4, 6-2, to reach the round of 16 of the Miami Open.
Fresh from a scintillating triumph over 2017 French Open titlist Jelena Ostapenko that made her the first Filipino in the Open Era to beat a former Grand Slam champion at the WTA level, Eala followed it up with a dismantling of world No. 5 Keys. Eala did not lack faith in herself even as she faced the battle-tested American who has reached at least the quarterfinals in all of the four Grand Slams. “I knew I could win from the start but the chances were low given that she’s a great player. I think my belief and the trust I had in myself [were] what pushed me through,” Eala said in an interview with Tennis Channel.
The 19-year-old raced to a 4-2 lead to start the match before Keys battled back and won the next two games to pull level. But Eala regained the upper hand in the succeeding game then broke Keys’ serve to claim the opening set, with the 30-year-old veteran committing a handful of errors in crucial moments. Eala kept her foot on the pedal, breaking Keys in the sixth and eighth games of the second set to wrap up the match in 1 hour and 27 minutes.
The win marked the first time Eala defeated a top-10 player an accomplishment that prompted her to let out a huge roar and jump for joy after Keys delivered the error that sealed the victory for the Filipina. According to the WTA, Eala became the first Filipina in the Open Era to beat a top-10 opponent since the ranking system came into being in 1975. “There have been many times that I’ve had a good win for my career and not so great the match after. I tried not to think about it too much,” said Eala.” There have been many times where I would have been able to play a big player like Madison or like Ostapenko but I couldn’t because I lost the round before.” “Now looking back, when you connect the dots going backwards, I feel it’s because I wasn’t ready at the time. It’s kind of God saying I wasn’t ready. Now, I have to believe that I am because I’ve been given this opportunity, I worked for the opportunity, and I have to take advantage of what I have.”
Up next for Eala is Spain’s Paula Badosa on Tuesday, March 25 (Manila time) as they vie for a place in the quarterfinals. Badosa, the world No. 11 who once reached a career-high ranking of No. 2 in 2022, advanced following a 6-3, 7-6 (3) win over Denmark’s Clara Tauson. “The work’s not yet done. Almost thinking about the next match already,” said Eala.
Source: rappler.com
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