Revenge or repeat? Swiatek gets second shot at Eala in Madrid

MADRID -- Alexandra Eala is remarkably composed for a 19-year-old -- for someone who shocked the world last month in Miami.

Truth be told, Eala shocked herself, too.

Coming into that hard-court tournament at No. 140 in the PIF WTA Rankings, the engaging Filipina had never beaten a Top 100 player in a WTA Tour-level event. And then she defeated three Grand Slam champions -- No. 25 Jelena Ostapenko, No. 5 Madison Keys and No. 2 Iga Swiatek -- on her way to the semifinals.

Sure, Eala believed she was capable of beating Top 100-quality opponents. But seriously …

“What was quite a shock to me was that I won against Top 10 and Top 5 players,” Eala said Tuesday. “So happy shock, of course. But the mindset is still, especially before matches, that you can beat them.”

She’ll need to channel that frame of mind Thursday afternoon when she plays her second-round match at the Mutua Madrid Open. For after her 6-3, 6-2 win over Viktoriya Tomova, she’s got a sudden rematch with Swiatek -- who has the best record (90-12, .882) of any active player on clay.

“Iga is an all-court player,” Eala said. “I think that she plays well on hard, she plays well on clay. But I definitely think that each match is a different story. Even if it’s against the same player every time -- doesn’t matter if I play her at the same time next year in Miami or in Madrid next year -- it’s going to be a different story than the last one.”

The last one -- the first one between them -- was a 6-2, 7-5 stunner. Eala, a fairly anonymous left-hander, clearly enjoyed the element of surprise. She broke Swiatek’s serve three times in the first set and kept her under pressure throughout. Swiatek, who marveled that Eala “went all out” and hit the ball “so flat,” had an uncharacteristic 32 unforced errors.

It won’t be as easy on clay against the four-time Roland Garros champion. Swiatek has played 15 matches here -- and won 13. Eala has played just the one.

“I guess we’ll see,” Swiatek said in a Tuesday press conference. “I feel like I know this place pretty well so I’m going to for sure use the experience -- but the experience doesn’t play, though.”

When Eala was asked which of her opponent’s attributes she prized most, she cited Aryna Sabalenka’s serve -- and two of Swiatek’s signature traits.

“I love her intensity and her footwork,” Eala said. “I think that’s something I could really improve on, observe and try to emulate in my game.”

While her sudden success in Miami came as a surprise, Eala has worked hard to keep a level head. She was encouraged, she said, when 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu reached out.

“I feel like she’s been in a similar position,” Eala said. “Where she did really well  and she knows the struggles, of course.”

Andreescu, who was 19 when she won her first major, hasn’t been past the Round of 16 at a Grand Slam since.

Understandably, life has changed dramatically for the graduate of the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca, Spain. A year ago, a loss in a WTA 125 event wouldn’t have sounded alarms but last week when Eala lost her second match in Oeiras, Portugal to Panna Udvardy, some people wondered if Miami had been a fluke.

“A lot of external factors have changed -- more eyes on me, there’s more exposure,” said Eala, whose ranking has zoomed to No. 72. “But in the day-to-day, how I feel internally, nothing has changed much. Because the work ethic has always been there, my team has been so down to earth, keeping me grounded.”

Miami, she said, will remain an inspiration but -- despite questions and comments at every turn -- she’s trying to forget it ever happened.

“In my mind, I have my whole life to look back at those moments and I’ll always have those memories,” Eala said. “But the tour goes on, competition goes on, so right now I’m fully focused on Madrid.”

And Swiatek will be fully focused on Eala. She’ll go through some tactical strategy with coach Wim Fissette and step onto Manolo Santana Stadium knowing that she is the best player in the world on this surface. Does that give her an advantage this time out?

“I haven’t started the tournament yet, so you best need to let me go on court and feel what I feel, you know?” she said. “I’m probably going to be able to answer that question afterwards.

“I’m not going to predict anything, like I'm not a wizard. So I’ve got to approach this match like any other match -- it doesn’t really matter what happened in Miami.”