Eala faces rough road ahead

Alex Eala faces her biggest challenge yet in the Italian Open as she takes on world No. 2 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan in the Round of 32 on Sunday at the Foro Italico in Rome.

The match start at 4 p.m. (Manila time) as the No. 42 Eala will be facing off against a top 10 player for only the eighth time in her career.

Eala, 20, is coming off a 6-4, 6-3 win over No. 33 Wang Xinyu of China in the Last 64 last Friday, giving her the confidence to battle the reigning Australian Open champion.

The Rafael Nadal Academy alumna said she is slowly getting the hang of the demands of playing in clay courts.

“I’m starting to build that relationship with clay, especially at this level. I competed on clay many times growing up, but playing professionally is a different game,” Eala said.

“This is my first season playing these high-level clay tournaments consistently.”

While Eala has been having a great time in this Women’s Tennis Association 1000 event, it would take everything she learned to stop Rybakina.

For one, the 26-year-old Kazakh has been in form this year, winning 39 of her last 45 matches.

Rybakina is also Eala’s highest-ranked opponent, tied with Iga Swiatek of Poland last year when she was in the second spot.

The Kazakh might have the advantage on paper, but Eala has proven she cannot be underestimated.

She has defeated Grand Slam champions such as Swiatek, Jasmine Paolini of Italy and American netters Madison Keys and Coco Gauff in her pursuit of greatness.

Should Eala pull off another upset, she will meet either Laura Siegemund of Germany or Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic.

Eala defeated Siegemund in the Round of 64 of the Miami Open last March in Florida, giving her a mental edge in the matchup.

While Pliskova and Eala have yet to face off against one another, the Filipina ace lost 13 times against Czech players in her professional career.

By just reaching the Round of 32, Eala secured 46,080 euros or P3.2 million pesos as well as precious ranking points.

A win over Rybakina will net her a whopping 79,500 euros or P5.6 million if she reaches the Last 16.