ALEX Eala considers her huge Miami Open women’s singles quarterfinals upset of Polish world No. 2 Iga Swiatek last month as history, and both are back to square one when they tangle tomorrow in the Mutua Madrid Open second round at Caja Majica courts in Madrid, Spain.
“Now that the dust has settled, I try not to think about Miami so much,” said Eala of her stunning 6-2, 7-5 win over Swiatek, a five-time Grand Slam champion, that helped her breach the top 100 of the Women’s Tennis Association world rankings and is now at No. 72.
“Her 6-2, 7-5 defeat of Swiatek — just the Pole’s third loss at tour level to a player ranked outside the Top 100 — was a seismic upset, so it’s no wonder all eyes are on a sequel so soon,” said a report in the WTA website late Tuesday night.
The pretty Filipina netter made the remark shortly after her clinical 6-3, 6-2 demolition of world No. 63 Viktoriya Tomova of Bulgaria to record her first win as a wild card entry in the main draw of Spain’s premier clay court tournament.
“I definitely think that each match is a different story,” Eala said. “Even if it’s against the same player every time — doesn’t matter if I play her (Swiatek) at the same time next year in Miami or Madrid next year, it’s going to be a different story than the last one.”
The WTA story pointed out that the reigning Madrid Open queen, considered by some as the female equivalent of Spanish clay court wizard Rafael Nadal for her four French Open titles is keen not only on avenging her previous defeat to Eala but also “shake off recent form as the 2025 clay swing kicks into high gear.”
“She (Swiatek) fell in last week’s Stuttgart quarterfinals to eventual winner Jelena Ostapenko – her sixth loss to the Latvian in six meetings – and has not reached a final since Roland Garros last year,” it noted.
“Avenging her Miami defeat at the hands of Eala on her preferred clay surface would be an important first step in Madrid.”
