Eala ‘super excited’ in facing another world-class foe in Muchova for place in quarterfinals
Alex Eala is on another dream run in the Miami Open, with a 6-3, 7-6 (2) win over Magda Linette on Sunday morning, putting her on a collision course against a formidable foe in Karolina Muchova in the round-of-16 of the WTA 100 event.
And having already warmed up to massive expectations, the 20-year-old Filipino said that she is just “super excited” to play the former world No. 8 and top-ranked Czech player for a place in the quarterfinals.
“She’s doing very well and I’m just excited to see how I can compete with her,” Eala told the customary postmatch interview after surviving a pressure-paced second set against Linette and asked of Muchova. “I’ll be put in tough positions (against Muchova), I’m sure.
“But I am super excited,” added Eala, who claimed the scalps of Grand Slam winners in this tournament, including Iga Swiatek’s, in her run to the semifinals last year.
Miami is where Eala’s rise to global fame started and this year, it is where she is confirming the adulation she has gained, an adulation that has made some legends of the game take a second look at her and made TV analysts now describe her as a superstar.
“It does take some getting used to,” Eala said when asked if her popularity has distracted her from her play in tournaments. “I have already warmed up to it.”
Eala is ranked 31st in this top-tier event and she admits to feeling the pressure.
“Every match is a high-level competition (this being a WTA 1000 event),” she said. “It really takes a toll mentally, but it’s part of the process of being a better player.
“I am happy to see progress in my game.”
Eala won over Linette for the second straight time, improving her head-to-head record to 2-2, counting a similar straight sets win in the CSB Open in Auckland earlier this year.
But this one was tougher, as she lost a 2-0 lead in the second set to be forced into a tiebreak by the hard-hitting Linette, as Eala played a ruthless baseline game.
Meanwhile, Muchova bundled out Katie Boulter, 6-3, 7-5, in a later match, to be the next star to take a crack at the Filipino ace. Muchova, who has two WTA Tour wins and a French Open runner-up finish, is currently ranked 14th in the world and is playing in the round-of-16 here for the first time in her career.
Muchova owns victories over such superstars as Aryna Sabalenka, whom she turned back in the 2023 Roland Garros semifinals, before losing to Swiatek in three sets in the title game.
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