Rising tennis star Eala stays focused at Madrid Open despite more attention on her

MADRID (AP) — Teenage sensation Alexandra 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.

“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 at the same time next year in Miami or in Madrid next year, it’s going to be a different story than the last one.”

The left-handed Eala also defeated two other Grand Slam champions — Jelena Ostapenko and Madison Keys — in Miami.

“A lot of external factors have changed (since Miami),” Eala said. “More eyes on me. I guess there’s more exposure. But in the day-to-day and how I feel internally, nothing has changed much because the work ethic always been there. My team has been so down to earth, keeping me grounded and reminding me what’s important to focus on right now.”

In Miami, Eala became the first Filipino player in the Open Era to win four main-draw matches at a WTA 1000 event.

“What was quite a shock to me was that I’ve won against top 10 and top five players. Happy shock, of course,” she said. “But the mindset is still, especially before the matches, is that you can beat them.”

Eala, who lost to Panna Udvardy in the round of 16 at a WTA 125 tournament last week in Oeiras, Portugal, clinched her first WTA 1000 win in Madrid last year.

Move to the Rafa Nadal Academy

Eala moved to Spain at age 13 after an invitation from the Rafa Nadal Academy following one of her victories in a youth tournament.

“I definitely think it was a big milestone when I moved to the Rafa Academy. They’ve been a part of my journey, for sure,” she said. “It was a it was a tough decision to send me to Spain, at such a young age, but I was super excited. I knew it was a big opportunity to get out of the Philippines and develop my tennis.

“They’re very experienced people,” she said. “The coaching staff have a lot of experience, a lot of knowledge. And and they have a structure that enables me to grow and to figure things out by myself and to develop as a player.”

Nadal was among those congratulating Eala after her surprise run in Miami.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

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