Madrid Open: No fairytale for Alexandra Eala as Iga Swiatek avenges Miami shocker
World No.2 Iga Swiatek came back from a set down to beat the young Alexandra Eala from the Philippines in the second round of the Madrid Open 2025. On Thursday, April 24, Swiatek, who's also a defending champion, took two hours and 15 minutes to beat Eala 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 at Manolo Santana.Last month, Eala, who graduated from the Rafael Nadal Academy in 2023, defeated Swiatek 6-2, 7-5 in the Miami Open. It was her third win on the trot against Grand Slam champions after she also defeated Jelena Ostapenko and Madison Keys. The win helped her become the first woman from the Philippines to break into the top 100.advertisementOn Thursday, the current World No.72 won the opening set and then went a break up early in the second. But Swiatek brought forth all her experience to come up trumps. The Pole said that one needs to be smart to play in Madrid, where the clay-courts are uncharacteristically fast.Evening the matchup to 1-1Defending champion @iga_swiatek leaves it all on the court to defeat Eala 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. #MMOpen pic.twitter.com/c79SzqjVRH— wta (@WTA) April 24, 2025
"I feel like my topspin will work here. And I feel like the courts are pretty fast. It's not like classic clay where the ball bounce is super slow. I think you need to be smart with tactics. Sometimes, play with spin, sometimes a bit more flat to keep the ball going fast. I'm gonna try to balance that in the next matches,' Swiatek said in the on-court interview.How Iga Swiatek stormed backadvertisementEala took a 3-1 lead in the opening set and was also helped by unforced errors from Swiatek. Later, she saved a break point and closed out the set comfortably.In the second set, Eala again broke Swiatek's serve early, but the Pole made a comeback to 2-2. Eala hit back with her second break of the set to go 3-2 up. But Swiatek stormed back with two more breaks after which she didn't look back.Breaking records in Madrid! @iga_swiatek surpasses Serena Williams with the. highest winning percentage at the @MutuaMadridOpen.#MMOpen pic.twitter.com/0vBDySkJKe— wta (@WTA) April 24, 2025In the third set, Eala earned a break, but dropped her serve twice to go down. Swiatek took a 3-0 lead and finished the match off in style.Swiatek will next be up against Czechia's Linda Noskova, who beat Maria Lourdes Carl of Argentina in straight sets.Trending Reel
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