(1st UPDATE) Filipina teen sensation Alex Eala comes close to pulling off another stunner, but five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek roars back from a set down in the Madrid Open
MANILA, Philippines – It was shaping to be another major shocker.
Alex Eala, however, couldn’t sustain her giant-slaying ways as world No. 2 Iga Swiatek rallied to a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory in the WTA 1000 Mutua Madrid Open on Thursday, April 24.
The 19-year-old Filipina stood just a set away from repeating her monumental takedown of Swiatek, but the five-time Grand Slam champion regained her footing late in the second frame before dominating the decider.
With the win, Swiatek avenged her stunning loss to Eala, 6-2, 7-5, in the Miami Open last month.
Eala tried to use the same playbook as she went for her shots and showed she wasn’t daunted by Swiatek’s glowing credentials.
The world No. 72 Eala sent a strong message from the get-go by breaking Swiatek in the very first game of the first set, then propelled herself to a 2-0 advantage.
After the next four games saw both players holding serve, Eala broke Swiatek a second time in the seventh game to zoom ahead, 5-2.
But the Polish star showed the stuff that made her win the Madrid Open the previous year, and inched closer at 5-4.
Eala then made sure not to let her glorious start to slip away, converting on her third break point to go up one set.
The Filipina lefty’s brilliant shotmaking and relentless returns forced Swiatek to uncharacteristically commit 25 errors in the 50-minute opening set.
In the second frame, Eala once again broke Swiatek in the first game. But the former world No. 1 stepped up to the challenge and broke right back to level the count at 1-1.
