OCTOPUS ATTACK: Russian underdog wary of Eala’s court coverage

SINGAPORE — Tatiana Prozorova of Russia is thrilled to advance to the Round of 16 of the WTA 500 Singapore Tennis Open following a hard-earned conquest of Sofia Costoulas of Belgium at the OCBC Arena at The Kallang here on Tuesday.

But upon learning that she will go up against world No. 18 Alex Eala, her smile suddenly vanished.

In an interview with DAILY TRIBUNE, the 22-year-old Prozorova admitted that beating Eala in a high-stake battle will not be easy, especially since they will be competing in a  very hostile environment where a huge group of Filipino fans are expected to show up to cheer their hearts out for her.

Prozorova, the world No. 166 from Moscow, is fresh from a heart-stopping 5-7, 7-6 (7-2), 6-2 victory over Sofia Costoulas of Belgium in the Round of 32, proving that she is equipped with the skills, power, and fighting spirit to pull off a shocking upset of the fast-rising world No. 18.

She, however, is wary of Eala, whom she branded as an “octopus” due to her incredible court coverage brought by her quickness and agility.

“Well, I think the first challenge is… it’s tough to say because there’s a lot of challenges,” said Prozorova, who is set to face Eala on Thursday. 

“She’s very good. I mean, she’s like an octopus, you know. She runs side by side and she puts a lot of pressure on her opponent because even if it will be very uncomfortable, the ball or shot, she will still hit it as strong as she can.”

“So yeah, I will just see some of her matches later and try to make a plan for my next match.”

Prozorova’s very cautious approach against Eala is quite understandable. 

Aside from enjoying the support of the large Filipino community in the Lion City, Eala is also in great shape. In fact, she gave Manila-based journalists a preview of her fighting form when she welcomed them to her closed-door training session with her Spanish coach, Sandro Viaene of the Rafael Nadal Academy, and hitting partner, Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus on Tuesday.

No interviews were granted, but the quickness, aggressiveness, and power were very obvious, solidifying her earlier claim that she will go all out to win the crown in this tourney that serves as her warm-up for the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya next week.

“I feel good, I feel healthy, which I’m so grateful for,” Eala said during the Players’ Welcome Party on Sunday.

“I have an amazing team who helps me take care of my body, helps me plan accordingly, and we’re very experienced. The tour is very long. The calendar year, or the season, is quite long, but I feel ready. I feel excited. I’m here, I’m closer to home, so I’m very excited.”

Should Eala emerge victorious, she is projected to collide with the dangerous Wang Xinyu of China, who defeated Donna Vekic of Serbia in the Round of 32 early in the day, 6-1, 6-2, in the quarterfinals.

Eala also got a lucky break after her former tormentor Amanda Anisimova of the United States decided to pull out due to a left wrist injury.

Anisimova, the world No. 11 who was seeded second in this event, told the organizing Women’s Tennis Association of her decision on Tuesday ahead of her battle with Talia Gibson in the Round of 16. 

She was replaced by lucky loser Viktoria Morvayova of Slovakia, who dropped her qualifying match to Joana Garland on Sunday.

Anisimova was also the 11th player to withdraw following the announcements of Janice Tjen of Indonesia, Diana Schanaider of Russia, Sorana Cirstea of Romania and Jessica Pegula of the United States, the world No. 3, who was seeded first before declaring that she is not healthy enough to compete at the highest level.

Still, Eala has to be at her best as the field remains very competitive with the presence of French Open finalist Maja Chwalinska of Poland, Filipino-Canadian Leylah Fernandez, reigning champion Elise Mertens of Belgium, and top seed Mirra Andreeva of Russia, who is projected to be her opponent should she go all the way to the final.