Teenage Eala takes care of business with little drama

AFP, United States :

If tennis’s broadcasters were hoping for emotional scenes of tears from teenager Alexandra Eala after she secured one of the biggest upsets of the WTA season they were left disappointed.

But the final point, as she broke the serve of World Number Two Iga Swiatek, for the eighth time, revealed much more about the Filipina than any waterworks would have.

Eala’s face quivered, on the edge of tears, as she began to process the magnitude of her victory which sent her into the semi-finals of the Miami Open, but she kept her emotions in check, composed herself and celebrated in a controlled manner before calmly and diligently undertaking her post-match duties.

“I think I was so in the moment, and I made it a point to be in the moment every point that it’s hard to realise what just happened. It’s hard to realise that you won the match,” she explained, when asked about her immediate emotions to beating the five-time grand slam winner.

“I really tried to soak it all in, because this has never happened to me before, and that’s why I was looking at the screen. You know, I really wanted to keep that moment in my mind,” she added.

In the biggest game of her career on the WTA Tour, Eala played with a poise that belied her inexperience but underscored an impressive level of preparation for such a moment.

“I don’t have a lot of experience on the WTA Tour, that’s for sure, but I do have experience with compartmentalising. I have experience with being professional,” she said.