Dream Team: Eala, Williams join hands

A dream team-up is set to happen at the Bad Homburg Open in Germany as Alex Eala and seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams join forces in the women’s doubles on Wednesday.

Game time is at 5 p.m. Manila time as Eala and Williams take on Australia’s Alexandra Osborne and American Catherine Harrison in the Round of 16 of this prestigious Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) 500 tournament.

The two players actually faced each other for the first time last January at the Auckland Open, where Eala and American netter Iva Jovic defeated Williams and Elina Svitolina of Ukraine in the Round of 16, 7-6, 6-1.

Now, they have a chance to make their mark as doubles partners before the Wimbledon Championships begin on 29 June at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London.

The Rafael Nadal Academy alumna could not hide her excitement as she joined hands with one of her heroes in the sport.

“Venus is such a trailblazer and continues to do so much and has done so much for the sport. I like to say that women’s tennis has been a trailblazer for women’s sports, and she is a big part of why that is,” Eala said.

“It’s not every day you get to play with Venus, so I have to give it my all.”

Coming off a 3-6, 3-6 loss to No. 26 Elise Mertens of Belgium, Eala admitted that the conditions at the Bad Homburg Tennis Club made it difficult for her to find her footing.

“Elise is an experienced player, very veteran, and I played her a couple of times before and also have encountered many challenges before,” Eala said.

“I think the conditions were difficult for me today, so I did the best I could with, you know, what I had.”

The 46-year-old Williams is regarded as one of the best female tennis players ever, having topped the WTA rankings in both singles and doubles.

She won the gold medal in women’s singles at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and has captured a total of 22 Grand Slam titles alongside her sister, Serena Williams.

Williams will have added motivation in her doubles match after Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania defeated her, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6, in the Round of 32.

Like Eala, Williams is also using the Bad Homburg as she gets ready for Wimbledon where she and Serena will join forces again.

Meanwhile, two-time US Open champion Tracy Austin warns Eala to not over exert herself before Wimbledon after competing in numerous tournaments.

Eala first joined the Birmingham Open where she won a title, the Queen’s Club Championships where she made it as far as the Last 16 and the Berlin Tennis Open where she reached the semifinal.

“It’s been a great week for Eala. How about a hand for her, a couple of top 10 wins,” Austin said.

“She’s gonna need a couple of days off, I think. She really needs to rest the body, but the mind is going to be great right now.”