MANILA, Philippines — Not this time around.
Gutsy Alex Eala stood her ground but eventually succumbed to reigning champion and world No. 2 Iga Swiatek of Poland, 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, in the Mutua Madrid Open second round late Thursday night.
Eala swept Swiatek in the Miami Open last month and was poised to repeat history with a first-set stunner only to surrender the last two sets to the vengeful and more experienced Swiatek in her own clay territory.
The 19-year-old Filipina pride blitzed to a 5-1 start in the opener to catch her idol off guard once again but needed to dig deep to repel Swiatek’s furious comeback for a 6-4 win.
But that proved to be the tip of the iceberg for Swiatek’s retaliation on the clay court she has ruled for years, unleashing five aces and breaking Eala’s serves with her crisp return game to erase a 2-3 deficit in the second set.
It was all Swiatek from there on, stamping patience and class with a 5-1 start of her own in the clincher to grind out a victory in two hours and 20 minutes over the lefty wunderkind, who beat her in the Miami quarterfinals, 6-2, 7-5.
Eala’s win over Swiatek in Miami was part of a historic Cinderella run that included victories against three Top 25 players and three former Grand Slam winners to become the first ever Filipina WTA semifinalist.
Up next for the 23-year-old Pole is No. 31 Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic after the latter’s 7-5, 6-1 win over Maria Lourdes Carle of Argentina, 7-5, 6-1.
