Breaking her Czech curse will be the order of battle when Alex Eala faces world No. 14 Linda Noskova in the Round of 16 of the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Garden in California on Wednesday.
Action starts at 11 a.m. (Manila time) with the 20-year-old Filipina marching to the 16,000-seater Stadium 1 oozing with confidence after bringing down world No. 4 Coco Gauff in the Round of 32 last Monday.
Actually, the 21-year-old Noskova is no stranger to the Filipina.
In fact, Eala had beaten the Czech twice in the juniors ranks. Then 12 years old, Eala ripped Noskova in the final of the 2018 Les Petits As-Le Mondial Lacoste in Tarbes, France before beating her anew in the quarterfinal of the 2020 French Open girls’ singles event.
Eala said she is thrilled to clash with Noskova anew, this time in the Women’s Tennis Association, where she soared to No. 32 in the singles ranking.
“I haven’t thought about it yet, if I’m being completely truthful. I just got off the court. But Linda is an amazing player — very powerful and very experienced even at such a young age,” said Eala, who is determined to pull off a win that will put her on a quarterfinal collision with world No. 7 Jasmine Paolini of Italy.
Aside from that, she stands to take home a staggering $193,645 — or P11.4 million pot money — as well as ranking points that could send her to a career-best top 25 in the WTA rankings.
“I’m excited. It’s my first fourth round in Indian Wells, so I’m going to go in with good preparation and a lot of motivation.”
But beating a Czech foe has never been easy for Eala.
The Filipina has fallen prey to hard-hitting Eastern Europeans, bowing to the likes of Anastacia Zarycka, Gabriela Knutson, Tereza Martincova, Marie Bouzkava, Katerina Siniakova, Linda Fruhvirtova, Barbora Krejikova, Marketa Vondrousova, and Tereza Valentova since her professional debut in 2020.
Eala said she will just stick to her game plan and use the same system that gave her a 6-2, 2-0 (ret.) victory over hometown bet Gauff in the Round of 32.
More than that, the young Czech is also on a roll, sweeping past world No. 50 Jessica Bouzas Maneiro of Spain, 6-3, 6-3, in the Round of 64 and prevailing over No. 38 Sorana Cirstea of Romania, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, in the Last 32.
“I think I’ve gained certain experience over the years in how to handle these high-pressure situations. Of course, it’s taken up a notch when you’re playing big players and when you’re playing on big courts, so it’s still a learning experience for me,” Eala said.