The giant killer

The giant killer | Daily Tribune

After the match, which was witnessed by a score of Filipino fans in the American capital, Eala struggled to find the right words to say, stressing that she couldn’t believe that she had beaten a two-time Australian Open and two-time US Open champion like Osaka, a Japanese who begged off from competing in the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya due to her hectic schedule on the professional tour.

“I’m not sure yet. I’m still locked in. I don’t think it’s over,” said Eala, who has yet to lose a single set since dropping the opening set in his Round of 32 match with reigning Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen of China.

“I’m super happy. I think I played really well and, of course, it’s such a meaningful match against a great player, so I’m really happy to share the court with Naomi.”

Aside from Zheng, China’s No. 1 professional women’s singles player, and previously Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek, Jasmine Paolini, and Madison Keys, Eala also stunned Filipino-Canadian powerhouse Leylah Fernandez in the Round of 16, world No. 10 Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals, and Osaka in the semifinals, which further cemented her reputation as the giant-killer of women’s professional tennis.

But Eala stressed that the battle is far from done. In fact, celebration is the last thing on her mind as she knows that everything will be worthless if she doesn’t beat world No. 3 Jessica Pegula of the United States in the final.

Eala and Pegula are still clashing at press time, with the Filipina hoping to exact revenge on the American who sent her packing in the semifinals of the Miami Open last year. Aside from that, the winner will bring home around P15 million on top of 500 ranking points, which could send Eala past the top 20 barrier.

“Like I said, it’s such an honor to share the court with her, but I think it’s just the way I approached today’s match. I could never count her out,” Eala said after beating Osaka.

“I had to be so locked in. I made it a point to be locked in, which is why, until now, I’m still in that mode of competition, so I need time to let it sink in.”

Beating the 32-year-old Pegula, however, will not be a cakewalk. The right-handed American is in top form following a convincing 7-5, 6-4 win over Diana Shnaider of Russia in the semifinals and will march into the warzone oozing with momentum following her masterful victory over Eala in the Miami Open.

Surprisingly, Pegula is not keeping his hopes high, admitting that she is still finding her rhythm returning the serves of a lefty like the Filipina.

“I think I started just trying to find the rhythm on the return against a lefty, kind of a breezy stadium,” said Pegula, who reached the semifinals of the Australian Open this year.

“It’s always really hard, and I didn’t think I was that far off. It was just a couple of points here and there, so just trying to pick up my energy and again, try, and be a little bit more aggressive.”

She added that Eala is tipped to be a major challenge.

“I haven’t played Naomi in a little while, but I played Alex, I don’t know, last year or something like that, at Miami, right before she started her big run, and I know that she has a huge following. She is a really nice girl,” Pegula said, drawing cheers from the Washington crowd.

“See? Yeah, she’s awesome,” Pegula said with a laugh, knowing that she may be playing on her home court, but the support of a huge number of Filipino fans in the stands will make winning quite difficult for her.

“So she’s always gonna be tough. She’s got nothing to lose.”Eala sustains hot form, sends Osaka packing