Alex Eala begins Indian Wells campaign vs familiar foe Yastremska

Motivated and well rested, Alex Eala takes her shot at glory as she battles Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska in the second round of the prestigious WTA 1000 Indian Wells Open in California Saturday, March 7 (Philippine time).

Making her first-ever appearance at the “Fifth Grand Slam” which features the world’s best players, the No. 31 seed Eala aims to start her campaign on a high note when she faces the unseeded Yastremska, whom she previously defeated, 6-1, 6-2, in the Lexus Eastbourne Open quarterfinals in Great Britain last June.

Eala, 20, who is also competing in her maiden WTA 1000 event as a seeded player, became one of the high-ranking bets that received an early bye to proceed into Round of 64, while the 25-year-old Yastremska carved out a 6-3, 6-2 over Chinese veteran Zhang Shuai in Round of 128.

A win against Yastremska could take No. 32 Eala to an early challenge and a rematch against world and competition No. 4 American Coco Gauff, who is facing Uzbek Kamilla Rakhimova.

The last time Eala and Gauff had collided was in the quarters of the WTA 1000 Dubai Tennis Championships in the UAE, where the two-time Grand Slam winner cruised into a 6-0, 6-2 triumph over the Filipina lefty, last month.

It would be a great opportunity for the fan-favorite Eala to redeem herself after a promising three-competition run in the Middle East that was highlighted by her stunning Last 32 victory over fiery Italian and No. 8 Jasmine Paolini.

“My preparations are built around myself, so I’m focusing a lot more on my game, as opposed to who it’s gonna be [my next opponent], and I think that’s the best way to approach it,” Eala said.

“Because at the end of the day, what I can control is what I do and how I approach things,” she added.

The distaff side of the “Tennis Paradise” was also joined by newly-engaged and world No. 1 Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, No. 3 Kazakh Elena Rybakina, No. 5 American Jessica Pegula, and No. 8 Russian wunderkind Mirra Andreeva, who reigned supreme last edition after beating Sabalenka in the finals.

The competition, which presents a hefty $9,415,725 (P542,920,119) prize pool, runs from March 5 to 16.

After her campaign at Indian Wells, Eala is anticipated to strut her wares anew as she was listed in this year’s Miami Open – also a WTA 1000 meet where the 5-foot-9 netter turned heads after besting the likes of Slam winners in Swiatek, American Madison Keys, and Latvian Jelena Ostapenko.

Eala-Jovic reunites

Eala is reuniting with American partner Iva Jovic in the doubles event as the two emerging stars are set for a first-round clash against hometown bet Hailey Baptiste and Ostapenko

Eala and Jovic had previously teamed up in the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand early this year. The charming duo dazzled and reached the semis where they eventually bowed to Chinese bets Yifan Xu and Zhaoxuan Yang, 5-7, 3-6.

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