Alexandra Eala of the Philippines will get another crack at World No. 2 Iga Swiatek of Poland after winning her opening match at the Mutua Madrid Open on Tuesday in Spain.
The 19-year-old Eala defeated Bulgaria’s Viktoriya Tomova 6-3, 6-2, while Swiatek had a first-round bye. Eala stunned Swiatek in straight sets in the quarterfinals of the Miami Open last month before losing to Jessica Pegula in the semis.
“Now that the dust has settled, I try not to think about Miami so much,” Eala told reporters after Tuesday’s win. “Personally, 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.”
Against Tomova, Eala converted 6 of 9 break-point opportunities while saving 5 of 8 break points she faced. She was stellar on return, winning 24 of 38 points on Tomova’s first serve (63.2 percent).
Italian Lucia Bronzetti knocked out four-time Grand Slam champ Naomi Osaka 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 in Osaka’s first match of the clay-court season. Osaka, now ranked No. 55 in the world, had a 7-0 advantage in aces in a match that saw the total points perfectly split, 99-99.
“From the outside maybe it seems easy but when you’re on the court against a great champion like her it’s always difficult – I’m proud with how I managed the match,” Bronzetti said. “She hit the ball very strong. … I tried to make some variation in my game like the drop shot, I got a lot of points with that.”
A pair of Americans advanced as Caroline Dolehide beat Armenian Elina Avanesyan 6-4, 6-4, and Hailey Baptiste outlasted Romania’s Sorana Cirstea 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (4) in two hours and 31 minutes.
Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic went even longer, beating Mexico’s Renata Zarazua 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 in two hours and 44 minutes. New Zealand’s Lulu Sun and Great Britain’s Katie Boulter advanced with three-set victories, while Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro prevailed 6-3, 6-1 over Egypt’s Mayar Sherif.
In the last match of the day, Peyton Stearns of the U.S. rallied past Australian Kimberly Birrell 5-7, 6-3, 6-4. Stearns saved 7 of 12 break points.
–Field Level Media
