Tennis greats shower Eala with praise

Alex Eala’s Miami Open run remains a hot topic among tennis’ marquee names.

Seven-time Grand Slam champion Mats Wilander said on TNT Sports that the 19-year-old Rafael Nadal Academy graduate is brimming with talent during her Miami Open.

Eala reached a career-best No. 75 in the latest Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings for making it as far as the semifinal in the Miami Open before losing to world No. 4 and home bet Jessica Pegula, 6-7, 7-6, 6-3.

“With Alexandra Eala, we’re talking about someone who has hands given by God,” Wilander said.

“She understands the game as good as any player on tour. She reminds me of Marcelo Rios, where the talent is just boiling out of the fingers and boiling out of her hand, and she can do anything. And then the reason I say Marcelo Rios is, of course, she’s left-handed.”

Chris Evert, an 18-time Grand Slam champion, gushed over Eala during her head-turning Miami Open performance.

“Incredible that Alex Eala still has anything left in her considering the teen has beaten 3 Grand Slam Champs,” Evert said.

Eala is humbled to be mentioned in the same breath as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and world No. 2 Iga Swiatek of Poland, who Eala defeated, 6-2, 7-5, in the quarterfinal.

“Well those are very flattering words and super flattered to be even mentioned in the same breath as all of these legends,” Eala said.

“Iga and Aryna are dominating the tour right now so just to be compared to them is a really good sign for me and I think it reflects on the potential that I have for sure.”