By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Alex Eala will be meeting a familiar foe when the Madrid Open Round of 64 kicks off on April 25, 2025, at the Caja Magica in Madrid, Spain.
Fresh off a demolition exhibition on Viktoriya Tomova to advance, the Filipina tennis sensation just set up a highly-anticipated rematch against world no.2 Iga Swiatek in the second round of the major tennis tournament.
Flashback to a month ago, Eala made tennis history after pulling off a stunning upset on Swiatek, sweeping her in just two sets to march to the semifinal round of the Miami Open.
It was the biggest upset win of her young tennis career after taking down the five-time Grand Slam winner. Equipped with tremendous poise and nerves of steel, Eala cruised past Swiatek in a way that no one could’ve ever imagined.
According to Swiatek, Eala was a tough cover to return as her quick on-the-rise ground stroke forced her to come out of her comfort zone in the baseline.
Known as an efficient rally finisher, Swiatek struggled against Eala’s power-packed leftie drives, tweaking her go-to game with undecided timings to either rush to the net or ride the Filipina’s pace.
After the match, Swiatek was all praises to Eala, pointing out her precise ground strokes and the ability to stay composed despite receiving multiple runs from her opponent.
“My coach told me to run, to go for every ball, take all the opportunities I can because a five-time Grand Slam champion is not gonna give you the win,” Eala told the reporters after her win.
On the other hand, the match against Eala will be Swiatek’s first appearance in Madrid, and tennis analysts were quick to emphasize rust issues when their rematch begins.
Swiatek recently entered a slump and received a painful quarterfinal exit during the Stuttgart Open. She lost to Jelena Ostapenko, another former Grand Slam winner that Eala booted out in the Miami Open.
High expectations were put on Swiatek, but she will first have to crack Eala’s code when they square off in the middle of the clay court in Madrid.
Can Eala stage another magical run? Or will Swiatek enter a laser-focused state to avoid a second straight defeat at the hands of the 19-year-old phenom?
