AIMING to extend her historic Wimbledon run to the quarterfinals, Filipino tennis ace Alexandra “Alex” Eala looks to repeat over Italian Jasmine Paolini in the fourth round at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club likely Monday evening in Manila.The specific court and time of the round of 16 match had not been revealed as of writing.
World No. 32 Eala first faced No. 17 Paolini last February at the 1000 Dubai Tennis Championships, where the former took a 6-1, 7-6(5) win in the second round.
Eala goes into a rematch with Paolini oozing with confidence after ousting Wimbledon defending champion and world No. 3 Iga Swiatek in the third round last Saturday, 7-6(9), 6-2.
That made Eala the first Filipino singles player in the Open Era to reach the grass major’s fourth round.
“I’m really emotional and maybe for someone like Iga who has won so many Slams, or someone like Serena or Venus [Williams], this achievement might seem small,” she said.
“But for someone who grew up in the Philippines... I trained with my mother and my grandfather every day after school with ruffled socks and chubby cheeks... so this is everything.” The 25-year-old Swiatek failed to bounce back from a disappointing last-16 defeat at the French Open, where she is a four-time winner.
She made 44 unforced errors as she struggled to regroup after missing two set points in a dramatic tiebreak which decided an 84-minute first set.
“I felt like Alexandra was more brave in important moments,” said Swiatek.
“In the tiebreak, we both had many chances to close the set earlier, and it didn’t go my way.” The 21-year-old Eala expects a tough match against the 30-year-old Paolini. “I think she’s a great player. She is a great fighter, especially it was not an easy match in Dubai for me. It will not be an easy match here either,” said Eala in a post-match interview after defeating Swiatek. “But then again, every match is a different story. So, I’m gonna do my best to prepare for that one, and you know, focus all my energy and in trying to improve and do better.” Paolini defeated Maria Sakkari in their round of 32 clash, 6-1, 6-2, last Saturday.
The three-time WTA champion praised Eala’s game, which she thinks fits well on the grass court.
“I know I’m gonna play Eala. I saw a little bit of the last game. I think the game of Eala suits very well to grass. She showed a great level [of play] in Berlin. I think she’s a very dangerous player here,” said Paolini.
“Let’s see how we’re going to prepare for the match. I played here already in Dubai this year. I think it’s going to be the tough one the next because I think she can play really well here,” she added.
The winner of the Eala-Paolini match faces either Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk or American Ashlyn Krueger in the quarterfinals.
World No. 13 Kostyuk and No. 102 Krueger play each other on Monday.