MADRID — Teenage sensation Alex Eala is trying to stay grounded despite all the sudden attention she’s attracted following her breakthrough run in Miami.
The 19-year-old Eala, a product of Rafael Nadal’s academy, has climbed to No. 72 in the WTA rankings after reaching the Miami Open semifinals as a wild-card entry last month. She’s the first Filipina to be ranked inside the top 100.
“Now that the dust has settled, I try not to think about Miami so much,” she said. “Of course, it comes to mind when everyone’s asking, but in my mind I have my whole life to look back at those moments and I’ll always have those memories. But the tour goes on, competition goes on, so right now I’m fully focused on Madrid.”
Eala defeated Viktoriya Tomova 6-3, 6-2 in her opening match at the clay-court Madrid Open on Tuesday, setting up a rematch against four-time French Open champion Iga Swiatek, whom she beat in straight sets in the Miami quarterfinals
But Eala lost to Swiatek, the defending Madrid Open champion, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, on Thursday but not before dragging the clay specialist into a hard-fought match.
