Alex gains lessons from botched stint

Alex Eala will be walking away from the Madrid Open with no regrets despite falling short against world No. 2 and defending champion Iga Swiatek of Poland, 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, in the Round of 64 of the women’s singles event last Thursday at the Manolo Santana Stadium.

The 19-year-old Rafael Nadal Academy graduate said she is happy to learn a lot playing against Swiatek — a five-time Grand Slam champion.

Eala matched her best finish from last year’s Madrid Open where she made it as far as the Round of 64 before losing to Sorana Cîrstea of Romania, 3-6, 7-6, 4-6.

“Obviously, being up a set and a break is a good situation to be in, but you have to remember there’s another person on the other side of the court — and not just anyone, a multiple Roland Garros champion,” Eala said.

“I’m happy with the match, happy with how I competed. I’m proud of how I fought and how I handled the moment.”

Eala will be walking away with 30,895 euros — or around P2 million — for making it to the Round of 64.

Currently at No. 72 in the Women’s Tennis Association rankings, Eala has the privilege to compete in bigger tournaments to further hone her skills.

She will be competing anew in the Italian Open, a WTA 1000 tournament, in Rome from 6 to 18 May, where she gets a golden chance of facing Swiatek anew as well as Grand Slam champions like Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, Madison Keys of the United States, and world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus.

Eala is also set to make her main draw debut in the French Open on 25 May as she becomes one of the few Filipino tennis players to step into one of the annual Grand Slam events.

Eala said if there is anything that she picked up from Swiatek, it would be her decision-making, especially when the odds are stacked against her.

“What was different was that she executed better in the important moments. She had a slightly higher level than me in specific situations — and that’s something I can learn from,” the 19-year-old Filipina said.

Swiatek, for her part, admitted it took a lot from her to get past Eala, her first opponent in her Madrid Open title defense.

“It wasn’t easy to get into the rhythm and feel the right timing, so I’m happy that I was just patient,” Swiatek said.