ALEXANDRA “ALEX” EALA attempts to topple one other giant in world No. 14 Linda Noskova of Czechia in a tall order of snatching a quarterfinal ticket within the Indian Wells Open on Wednesday on the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in California.
Ms. Eala, WTA No. 32, will probably be out to ride on the momentum of her win against No. 4 Coco Gauff — albeit not in the best way she would have desired it via retirement — when she locks horns against the Czech ace at 11 a.m. (Manila time).
The duel is ready on the majestic Stadium 1 on the Tennis Paradise once more with a looming full capability of over 16,000. It’s the second-biggest tennis venue on this planet, next only to the house of the US Open on the Arthur Ashe Stadium in Recent York, where Ms. Eala eliminated Ms. Gauff on Monday.
And expect the fired up Filipina, once more buoyed by a throng of Filipinos in California, to smash it with guns ablaze for a shot at either world No. 7 Jasmine Paolini of Italy or Talia Gibson of Australia (No. 112) within the Last 8.
“I hope I could make the perfect out of the momentum,” said Ms. Eala within the post-match press conference following an enormous 6-2, 2-0 (ret) conquer the American star Ms. Gauff at home.
“Linda (Noskova) is an incredible player. She’s very powerful and really experienced even at such a young age. I’m excited so I’m gonna go in with an excellent preparation and plenty of motivation.”
Ms. Eala, 20, and Ms. Noskova, 21, aren’t any strangers to one another after slugging it out of their junior days none greater than the 2020 French Open girls’ singles, where the lefty Filipina ace pulled off a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 comeback win.
Six years later, they meet again in the professionals with much greater stakes up for grabs.
“I feel I’ve gained certain experience over time to handle these high-pressure situations. It’s taken up a notch if you’re playing against big players and playing in big courts,” she added. “It’s a learning experience. What I attempt to do is just concentrate on the following thing that I actually have to do. I try not to consider the larger picture and I concentrate on what I can control.”
Ms. Eala, seeded as 31st with a first-round bye, dominated Ms. Gauff in the primary set and was leading two-to-love within the second before the American opted to call off the match because of a pain in her left arm. The Round 3 win served as a solid follow-up to Ms. Eala’s 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 win over No. 52 Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine within the second round.
Ms. Noskova pulled off a 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 6-4 revenge win on No. 38 Sorana Cirstea of Romania, who showed her an early exit door within the Round of 32 on the WTA 1000 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships where Ms. Eala made it to the Last 8.
Like Ms. Gauff, Ms. Noskova with a career-best at No. 12 boasts the upper hand with higher rating and deeper experience against Ms. Eala in all 1000-level tours, Grand Slams and Olympic appearances despite being only a yr older.
But Ms. Eala is not going to be marching into battle alone.
Ms. Eala has enjoyed an enormous support in every city she has played this season to this point and California is not any different, billed as the most important home state for Filipinos abroad at around two million.
On top of a quarterfinal berth, up for taking for Ms. Eala is a shot at Top 20-25 after jumping to No. 28 with 110 additional points for a brand new career-best in line with the WTA live rankings. — John Bryan Ulanday