Alex Eala advanced to the second round of the Italian Open with a 6-0, 3-6, 6-4 victory over Magdalena Frech.
“I was just very happy that I was able to come back after being down a break and find the confidence in my game and play aggressive again,” said Eala.
“The people around me are so supportive. They really make it a point to focus on who I am as a person and not just as an athlete.”
Alex Eala says she wasn’t ‘tired’ enough during her first-round win in Rome
In a conversation with the ‘Tennis Channel,’ Eala was asked about how she managed to come through the match.
“I think I told myself that I was not tired enough,” she said.
“I told my team that I was not finishing the points tired enough, so maybe the intensity went down a little bit.
“I tried my best to give that little extra push every single point, and it paid off.”
Eala moved ahead after a strong start, but her intensity dropped in the second set as Frech pulled level. The Filipina found her rhythm again in the third set and closed out an important win.
After taking control early on, Eala let up a bit and lost momentum, dropping the second set. But she found her footing again when it mattered most, pushing through for a hard-earned win to reach the next round.
She understands just how tough it is to compete at this level and knows she needs to maintain high standards if she wants to keep advancing.
Who will Alex Eala face in the next round of the Italian Open?
Her next challenge is against 31st seed Xinyu Wang, a familiar face from earlier this season.
Their only previous meeting came in the semi-finals of the ASB Classic, where Eala took an early lead but couldn’t close it out, eventually falling 5-7, 7-5, 6-4.
Wang turned that match around and went on to win in three sets. Now, Eala has a chance to level their head-to-head and potentially set up a high-profile third-round clash.
The winner could meet Elena Rybakina, who’s already added an Australian Open title and a clay-court win in Stuttgart this year to her impressive résumé.
Eala and Rybakina have yet to meet on the WTA Tour. If both players get through their second-round matches—Eala against Wang and Rybakina facing either Lilli Tagger or Maria Sakkari—it could set up their first encounter in Rome.
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