Fresh from claiming the scalp of Magda Linette of Poland, Alex Eala faces a major roadblock in world No. 13 Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic in the Round of 16 of the Miami Open on Tuesday at the Hard Rock Stadium.
It will be Eala’s 13th match against a Czech player as she aims to continue her run in this prestigious Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) 1000 tournament.
The Rafael Nadal Academy alumna defeated Linette, ranked No. 50, 6-3, 7-6, in the Round of 32 last Sunday.
For Eala, getting the victory was a test of character as it was only her second win over Linette.
“I think it went really great. I was definitely put in some tough positions by Magda, especially in that second set, so I’m really happy with how I pulled through,” Eala said.
“I think I just told myself to be brave, do whatever I could. I can’t control how she was playing, and I think she upped her game in the second set, so I tried to go for my shots — and luckily, they were effective.”
As for her upcoming match against Muchova, Eala isn’t worried despite her record of 12 losses against Czech players since starting her professional career in 2020.
“I’m really excited. I haven’t thought about it much. She’s obviously a great player and is doing really well,” Eala said.
“A couple years back, I watched one of her finals. I was really impressed. To be put in a position to compete against her is a real privilege and going to be a test.”
Eala will have to come up with something big to get past Muchova.
For one, the Czech netter made it all the way to the final of the 2023 French Open before losing to world No. 3 Iga Swiatek of Poland.
Muchova also defeated world No. 9 Victoria Mboko of Canada in the Qatar Open last February.
By just reaching the Last 16, Eala is already assured of $105,720 or roughly P6.3 million.
If Eala advances to the quarterfinal, she will receive 215 points and a hefty prize of $193,645 or P11.6 million.
But waiting for her would be either Mboko or world No. 10 Mirra Andreeva of Russia.
Eala and Andreeva only played against each other once in an exhibition match in Macau last December, where the Russian came out victorious.
The Filipina ace has to make it to at least the semifinal to maintain her standing within the Top 30 of the WTA rankings.