Alex sets sights on new mission

Alex Eala’s heartbreaking loss to Cristina Bucsa of Spain is not yet the end.

In fact, her journey has just begun.

The tears in her eyes have yet to dry but Eala is already setting her sights on another important mission when she competes at the Sao Paulo Open at the Parque Villa-Lobos in Brazil from 8 to 14 September.

Eala’s looming campaign in this WTA 250 event will not be easy. But expect her to go all out, not just to finally capture her first professional crown, but also bury the bitter memories of the US Open, where she suffered a second-round exit following a bitter 6-4, 6-3 loss to Bucsa in the women’s singles event.

Despite gaining some measure of success in the juniors ranks, Eala is still hunting for glory in the professional circuit.

Her brightest moment came in the Miami Open when she pulled off a string of victories over former Grand Slam champions like Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, Madison Keys of the United States and Iga Swiatek of Poland to reach the semifinals and gain a significant rise on her ranking.

Although she suffered a three-set loss to American Jessica Pegula, she still made a breakthrough as made it to No. 75 in the WTA ladder, formally giving her a direct access to the main draw of Grand Slam events.

With her newfound confidence, Eala was able to inch closer to her first WTA crown until she fell prey to a world No. 43 Maya Joint in the championship match of the Eastbourne Open.

In her third crack at the Grand Slam crown, Eala pulled off a stunner when she beat Clara Tauson of Denmark in the first round, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (11), making her the first Filipino since the Open era in 1968 to secure a victory in one of the most prestigious tennis events in the world.

Although Eala surrendered to Bucsa, a bronze medalist in the women’s doubles event of the Paris Olympics for Spain last year, it was still a mission accomplished as she was able to gain crucial lessons that she can use in her next tournaments, starting with the Sao Paulo Open, which will feature 32 players in the main draw of the singles event, including world No. 22 Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil and No. 47 Hailey Baptiste of the United States, who reached the fourth round of the French Open this year.

Eala, who already beat Baptiste in the qualifying tournament of the Eastbourne Open, is expected to be among the top five seeds together with world No. 71 Renata Zarazúa of Mexico and world No. 72 Solana Sierra of Argentina.