In 2024, an 18-year-old Alex Eala fell in the final round of the qualifiers at the Miami Open.
Just a year later, when she was ranked 140th in the world, she maximized her wildcard entry into the main draw by defeating three Grand Slam champions on her way to the semifinals.
Eala will be retracing the steps of that breakthrough tournament when she faces 38-year-old Laura Siegemund of Germany in the second round of the WTA 1000 event on Friday morning (Manila time) at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
Eala’s historic run in Miami last year kickstarted her climb on the WTA Tour.
She is now at a career-high ranking of 29th and seeded 31st this week, earning her a first-round bye.
A lot is at stake for Eala in this tournament.
She will be defending the ranking points she earned from last year’s event, and an early exit could see her drop to the high 40s in the world rankings by the end of the month.
(C) Miami Open
Her opponent, Siegemund, is a seasoned campaigner and the oldest player currently ranked inside the top 55.
The German world No. 53 has proven she remains a threat, as shown by her run to the quarterfinals at last year’s Wimbledon Championships, where she fell in three close sets to world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.
Eala will need patience against Siegemund, whose tricky style often frustrates opponents.
The German varies her groundstrokes with a mix of drives, slices from both forehand and backhand, drop shots, and lobs.
She also pressures opponents with well-timed net approaches and is notorious for taking long pauses between points, disrupting her adversaries’ rhythm.
To overcome Siegemund, Eala must dictate the pace and prevent the German from extending rallies.
Going for winners and keeping Siegemund on the defensive will be key.
The winner of their match will face, in the third round, either second seed Iga Swiatek or Magda Linette, both of Poland.
