THE Philippines’ Alexandra Eala may have bowed to world no. 2 Iga Swiatek.
But she expressed her satisfaction on how she battled Swiatek after their second-round match in the Mutua Madrid Open at the Manolo Santana Stadium late Thursday.
“I’m happy with the match, happy with how I competed. Obviously, (I was) up a set and a break is a good situation to be in, but you have to remember that there’s another person on the other side of the court,” said Eala.
“More so, a multiple Roland Garros champion. She did well also. (I got) things to take back and to learn,” added Eala of her world no. 2 foe, whom she upset 6-2, 7-5 in the quarterfinals of the Miami Open last month.
Eala will leave Madrid with 30,895 euros, or P1.98-million, to go with 35 WTA points for reaching the second round.
She heads next to the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Italy, slated from May 6 to 18.
Swiatek pulled through after struggling with her game, recovering from a frustrating first set to repulse Eala, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
This saw Swiatek escaping from a big setback at a WTA 1000 event in nearly four years, after having been beaten in the second round of a tournament of this magnitude at the 2021 Cincinnati Open.
And Swiatek admitted that she did not have an easy time in dealing with Filipina sensation.
“It wasn’t easy to get into the rhythm and feel the right timing, so I’m happy that I was just patient,” said Swiatek, who found her second wind in the middle of the second set and held her ground in the two-hour, 15-minute encounter.
The 23-year-old Swiatek lost her composure after an aggressive Eala took the early lead, 3-1, and eventually grabbed the first set, 6-4.
Swiatek was visibly frustrated, knowing that she’s in big trouble if she does not settle down soon. This continued until the eighth game of the second set when the contest remained tied at 4-all.
A service winner in the ninth game, got Swiatek into the lead, and a steady baseline game gave her the second set, 6-4.
Finding her rhythm and game in the third set, Swiatek coasted to a 5-1 lead.
“What was different (between Madrid and Miami) was that, in my opinion, she executed better in the important moments, and had a little higher level than me in specific moments of the match,” said Eala.
Swiatek overcame 25 unforced errors in the first set and four lost serves.
In all, Eala unloaded three aces and won 30 points off 47 first serves, while Swiatek struck home with 35 points on 69 first serves.
It was Swiatek’s first triumph in a deciding set since winning over Linda Noskova from a set behind in the third round of the Qatar Total Open in February.