Alex Eala’s upcoming opponent in Singapore says what she really thinks about her game, ‘she is very good’

Alex Eala will play Tatiana Prozorova in the second round of the Singapore Tennis Open.

Seeded third, Eala received a bye into the second round, where she will meet Russia's Prozorova, who defeated Sofia Costoulas, 5-7, 7-6, 6-2, in her opening match.

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The Filipina has never played the Russian world number 180 before. After beating Costoulas, Prozorova delivered her verdict on Eala.

Tatiana Prozorova says Alex Eala plays like an 'octopus' ahead of their match in Singapore

During an interview with the 'Bilyonaryo News Channel', Prozorova said the following about Eala's game.

"There are a lot of challenges. She is very good. She is like an octopus. She is running side to side, and she does a lot of pressure to opponents, so it will be very uncomfortable. The weight of the shot, she will hit as hard as she can," she said.

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"I will see some of her matches later and try to make a plan for my next match."

Prozorova will walk onto the court as a big underdog against Eala, looking to cause one of the upsets of the season. Not only will the Russian be up against it taking on a top-20 player, but she will also face a crowd overwhelmingly in support of her opponent. Eala is immensely popular wherever she goes, and that popularity goes into overdrive whenever she returns home to Asia.

Should Eala advance past Prozorova as many expect, she will meet either Wang Xinyu or Joanna Garland in the quarter-finals. Xinyu is ranked in the top 40 and beat Eala in Auckland earlier this year. However, the Filipina then took revenge on Xinyu in Rome.

Eala has never played Garland, but is ranked 150 places above the athlete representing Taiwan and shouldn't have too much trouble reaching the semis.

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Alex Eala's route to the Singapore Tennis Open title

1R – Bye

2R – Tatiana Prozorova

QF – Wang Xinyu/Joanna Garland

SF – Maria Sakkari/Linda Fruhvirtova/Nao Hibino/Talia Gibson/Viktoria Morvayova

F – Mirra Andreeva/Aliaksandra Sasnovich/Alycia Parks/Leylah Fernandez/Elise Mertens/Barbora Krejcikova/Anna-Lena Friedsam/Oleksandra Oliynykova/Maja Chwalinska

It's too early to tell who she will meet in the semis or the final, but Mirra Andreeva is clearly the player to watch out for. The French Open champion is the top seed in Singapore and will be keen to win her fourth title of the season at Eala's expense.

Eala won't want to get ahead of herself, though, and will now focus on the task at hand, playing Prozorova in the second round.

Who is Tatiana Prozorova?

Prozorova, the world number 180, is only 22. A year older than Eala, Prozorova hasn't achieved quite as much as the Filipina, but she has shown signs of promise.

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Official WTA Rankings

Official WTA Rankings

She has won eight ITF singles titles and played one Grand Slam main draw, at the 2023 US Open. There, Prozorova lost to the former world number one Caroline Wozniacki, 3-6, 2-6.

Prozorova is also playing the best tennis of her season so far. The Russian has only won two WTA Tour main draw matches this year, both of which occurred recently.

The 22-year-old defeated Solana Sierra in Memphis two months ago, and has now beaten Costoulas in Singapore. If she can maintain this level, it might not be long before we see her break into the top 100.

If Prozorova defeats Eala in Singapore, she will move up to 139th in the 'Live WTA Rankings'. They will play their second-round match on Thursday, September 24.

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