Filipina tennis star Alex Eala showed plenty of grit before bowing out of the 2025 Madrid Open on Thursday, April 24, following a three-set loss to World No. 2 Iga Swiatek.
Swiatek was made to work by the teenager, who took a one-set lead before the Pole battled back for a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 win at the Manolo Santana Stadium to open her title defense in the WTA1000 clay court tournament.
It was a reversal of the result of their match at the Miami Open in late March, when Eala stunned the pole 6-2, 7-5 to advance to the semifinals of the tournament.
“It wasn’t easy to get into the rhythm and to feel the right timing,” Swiatek said after the match.
“I’m happy that I was just patient.”
Much like she did in Miami, Eala pounced on a seemingly out-of-sorts Swiatek to take the opening frame.
A double fault by Swiatek gave Eala a 5-2 advantage, before the defending champion gained her rhythm and won eight straight points to cut into the lead, 5-4.
But World No. 72 Eala held her nerve, and poor returns by Swiatek secured the first set for the Filipina, 6-4.
In a thrilling second set, Eala displayed great shot-making and benefited from more unforced errors by Swiatek to tie the count at 4-4. However, Swiatek held her serve in the next game and seized the momentum in the process, breaking Eala to love and sending the match to a decider.
Now firmly in rhythm, Swiatek won the first three games as Eala succumbed to costly unforced errors, including uncharacteristically poor returns.
She held her serve in the fourth game to get on the board, but Swiatek would not be denied this time around.
A missed return by Swiatek allowed Eala to save a match point, but the Pole fired a down-the-line winner and Eala sent her next hit long to wrap up the match in Swiatek’s favor after two hours and 15 minutes.
Swiatek will next play Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic, who beat Maria Lourdes Carle of Argentina 7-5, 6-1 in their second-round encounter.
“We always play amazing matches, so hopefully this one is also gonna be enjoyable and good entertainment,” Swiatek said of Noskova.
“I’ll just focus on my performance.”
“Linda is a good player, and I have huge respect for her, so we’ll see,” she added.
Swiatek fired 40 winners to Eala’s 16, making up for her 57 unforced errors in the match.
She also scored six aces — one of which came in the ninth game of the second set that helped shift the momentum in her favor. (ABS-CBN News)