Alex Eala believes the result of her Round-of-64 duel with Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska to start her campaign in the BNP Paribas Open singles competition on Saturday would largely depend on her game.
While Eala is taking on somebody she’s faced before at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, the world No. 31 Filipino netter insists that the key to success lies in her brand of play.
“My preparations are built around myself, so I’m focusing a lot more on my game, as opposed to who it’s gonna be, and I think that’s the best way to approach it,” Eala said on the eve of her showdown with the world No. 52.
“Because at the end of the day, what I can control is what I do and how I approach things,” added the 20-year-old Eala, whose debut is expected to be watched by a sellout crowd.
Eala and Yastramska have crossed paths before.
In the Eastbourne Open in England, last June, Eala, a proud product of the Rafael Nadal Academy in Mallorca, Spain, won in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2, in the quarterfinal.
At press time, Eala is playing in the women’s doubles with world No. 20 Iva Jovic as they faced Hailey Baptiste and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia in the Last 32.
Thanks to her lofty rating in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), Eala earned a bye in the main draw for the first time in her professional career.
If victorious once again against Yastremska, Eala will square off with former doubles partner and world No. 4 Coco Gauff in the Round of 31.
Gauff had also clashed with Eala before and it took place during the Dubai Tennis Chanpionships in the United Arab Emirates last month.
Gauff didn’t push herself to the limit as she got past Eala 6-0, 6-2, in the quarterfinal round.
Also entered in the tournament dubbed as the Fifth Grand Slam are No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, No. 2 Iga Swiatek of Poland, No. 3 Elene Rybakina of Kazakhstan and defending champion Mirra Andreeva of Russia, all favored to progress.
One thing that could work wonders for Eala even against topnotch opponents will be the crowd that will cheer for her every move.
In the Australian Open last January, a huge crowd went to see her play in Dubai and during her Middle East stint, Filipino came in full force to support her.