Alexandra Eala plays a complete game. That should not surprise us because she trained at the Rafael Nadal Academy. She is not beating you with one shot, she beats you because she has a complete game. She takes the ball earlier than her opponents expected. Alexandra Eala also knows how to redirect the ball, keeping her opponents completely off guard. She is a left-handed player.
Alexandra Eala Has A Sporting Pedigree
Rosemary, her mother, was an Olympic swimmer. Eala’s Uncle is the Minister of Sports and her brother, Michael, is also a tennis player. Surprisingly, she first played in the qualifying rounds of the Miami Open when she was fifteen years old. This is the third time she has gotten a wild card into the Miami Open because she is an IMG client (the Miami Open is owned by IMG).
Embed from Getty ImagesIga Swiatek Struggled To Hold Serve
It was not until the second set that the former number one player, Swiatek, was able to hold her serve. After losing the first set 2-6, we all expected that she would fight back. How would the nineteen-year-old respond? The Polish player broke in the second set to take the lead 3-2. However, as we had seen all match, no breaks were guaranteed until they were consolidated.
Eala Played The More Composed Tennis
Eala is ranked one hundred and forty. Swiatek was a former dominant number one female tennis player. No one anticipated this result and least of all not Swiatek and her team. To say Swiatek was frustrated would be the understatement of the tournament. She just could not seem to gain any positive traction against her opponent. Yet, she was a former number one for a reason; thus, she competed and managed to get a 4-2 lead in the second set.
Embed from Getty ImagesAlexandra Eala Continues To Make History
Despite her tennis resume on the main tour, Eala was the more composed player. Interestingly, she has an idiosyncratic ritual. Alexandra Eala has an anchor, which is to hit her right buttock to keep her grounded and focused on her objective. Swiatek simply played edgy tennis and with a slew of errors coming off her forehand, the result was inevitable. Instead of consolidating her break, the teenager broke again to even the set 4-4. However, the drama continued with Swiatek breaking to lead again 5-4 and serving for the set. In the end, Eala held her nerves to win 6-2, 7-5.
ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF GETTY IMAGES
