‘I’M HERE TO STAY’
It took a player from a certified tennis power to halt Alex Eala’s run at Indian Wells.
But not even the dominating way No. 14 seed Linda Noskova fashioned out that 6-2, 6-0 victory over the Filipino star could detract from the fact that Eala has proven herself worthy of her place in the WTA.
And it’s that belief that she will carry into the Miami Open, the tournament where the stadium-filling Alex Eala Tour officially started.
“Miami last year was a beautiful time for me,” Eala told a postmatch press conference on Tuesday evening in California. “It was the start of all of this.”
“But since that night, I’ve achieved a lot; I’ve grown a lot. I’ve had so many good matches, so many tough losses [and] so much experiences since then. That’s helped me build confidence [and] self-esteem, and I know I belong here.”
Noskova, from tennis powerhouse Czech Republic, wasted no time in establishing control over the match, making sure that she wouldn’t strand herself in those long, intricate rallies that Eala uses to frustrate her foes.
“I was definitely feeling very well prepared from the start to the end,” Noskova said during her postmatch interview on court. “I was using my serve a lot, obviously putting as much pressure as I could and trying to keep the rallies under control.”
Novoska also returned well, breaking Eala’s first service game and never looking back on the way to the 55-minute masterclass.
“I don’t think I found my groove,” Eala said. “Nothing clicked for me tonight.”
Nevertheless, it won’t be a total loss for the current crowd-drawing rock star of the WTA.
“I do leave with happiness. I think tomorrow I’ll be a bit happier than I am now [because] … the initial feeling after the match is [that it is] a tough pill to swallow.”
“But I got to the fourth round of the Indian Wells [tournament] and I’m really happy about that,” Eala added. “I’m still proud of that. I wish it could have ended on different circumstances but … there will be a next time for sure.”
And now it’s off to Miami.
The Czech ace may have handed Eala a disappointing ending to her Indian Wells stint, but the Filipino remains steadfast in her bid to carve her own niche atop the world women’s tennis rankings. And she hopes to continue doing that at the place where her stardom was born.
“It doesn’t matter if I win the tournament in Miami or I lose in the first round,” Eala said.
“I know I’m here to stay.”
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