SINGAPORE – Alex Eala had a light workout ahead of her Round of 16 battle with Tatiana Prozorova of Russia in the Singapore Open on Thursday at the OCBC Arena here.

The training ran for more or less 30 minutes, but her Spanish coach, Sandro Viaene, already liked what he saw.

Viaene said Eala is looking good as she prepares to make a deep run for her second WTA 500 title in front of Filipino fans in the Lion City.

The Rafael Nadal Academy mentor said the 21-year-old Eala had already addressed some of her weaknesses and is now ready to compete against some of the brightest stars of professional tennis, led by world No. 5 Mirra Andreeva of Russia, the top seed in this prestigious tournament.

“You cannot appreciate it watching it on TV, but if you can see it live, you can appreciate it more. I think she’s hitting harder. She was doing well, but now she’s doing even better,” Viaene told Philippine Lawn Tennis Association director Dyan Castillejo a few hours before she opened her bid against the hard-fighting Russian.

“She’s doing a bit better in many aspects.”

Viaene said they have been coaching Eala at the world-famous academy for nearly 10 years, starting when she was just a 13-year-old girl from Quezon City until becoming the 18th-best player in the world.

He said they are happy to see her hard work pay off and he wishes her well as she tries to win more WTA tournaments and, probably, a Grand Slam crown in the future.

“Everything that she receives, she deserves. She’s very good,” said Viaene, who has been handling Eala’s preparation here and in the upcoming 20th Asian Games.

“She’s very coachable. She listens; she wants to learn.”

“I think everyone in the Academy is super proud because she’s a player who came to Mallorca at 13 years old, I think. Everyone is super proud – the team, the family. I said many times that she deserves everything because she works very hard.

When you know her, everything good that she receives, she deserves.” 

Still, Eala has to battle the world No. 166 Prozorova with extreme caution as she is determined to pull off an earthshaking upset, similar to what she did when she fought back from a set down to beat Sofia Costoulas of Belgium in the Round of 32 on Tuesday. 

“It’s a second match for her; for Alex, it’s her first match. It’s going to be a tough match for Alex so she has to be ready,” Vieane said.