Familiar foes are set to challenge Alex Eala when she competes in the Canadian Open on Saturday (Manila time) at the IGA Stadium in Montreal.
The official pairing has yet to be released at press time but the 20-year-old tennis sensation is expected to clash with heavyweights like Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Madison Keys and Jessica Pegula in the prestigious event that will give the winner 1,000 World Tennis Association ranking points.
On the other hand, Aryna Sabalenka, Paula Badosa and Paris Olympics champion Zheng Qinwen have already announced their decision to pull out of the tournament.
Eala is coming off a short break in the Philippines following a grueling campaign on grass surface, where she made it to the final of the Eastbourne Open before seeing action in the main draw of the Wimbledon last June.
Serious challenge awaits Eala.
Although some world-class stars will not be around, the mettle of the Filipina youngster will be greatly tested in this event that serves as a warm-up for the US Open at Flushing Meadows in New York in August.
Among those who are out to challenge Eala is Pegula, the hard-hitting American who is coming in as the tournament’s reigning champion. Although the 31-year-old world No. 4 was upset by Filipino-Canadian Leylah Fernandez in the Round of 16 of the DC Open on Friday, she is expected to be at her best when she faces Eala in a bid to duplicate her 7-6, 5-7, 6-3 win in the semifinals of the Miami Open.
Keys could also be an interesting opponent after her 4-6, 2-6 loss in the Round of 32 in Miami as well as Gauff after they shared the court in the women’s doubles of the Italian Open last May.
But Swiatek looms to be the the most-anticipated foe for Eala after they split their last two encounters.
Eala stunned Swiatek, 7-5, 7-5, in the Miami Open while the 24-year-old Polish exacted revenge in the Madrid Open in April, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
But Eala stressed that she will try her best not to get too intimidated in another star-studded competition.
“I think it’s just to treat it like every other match and to build a routine wherein you go into the match so focused and so locked in,” said Eala, who is overflowing with confidence due to the great conditioning that allows her to withstand even the world’s greatest tennis players.