Alex Eala goes from Laureus Sports Awards red carpets to being fully focused on red dirt in Madrid
One day after gracing the red carpets at the Laureus Sports Awards, Alex Eala stepped onto the clay courts at Caja Magica and produced a confident display in her opening match at the Madrid Open.
Eala was one of several tennis players who attended the 25th anniversary of the annual ceremony at Palacio de Cibeles in the Spanish capital on Monday, as 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic was the co-host while Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka won the World Sportsman of the Year and World Sportswoman of the Year, respectively.
Asked about attending the event, Eala told Tennis Channel: “It was super inspiring, I cannot tell you. To see those people firsthand, when you see your idols and you see these athletes and you’re able to see them in person, it reminds you that they are people and they are real.
“Nadia Comaneci, her Lifetime Award speech, I was so touched, it is crazy. Eileen Gu, Novak Djokovic, Simone Biles – everywhere you look, there are stars, everywhere you look, there are people who have made waves, touched lives, and inspired so many. So just to be in that room was a great pleasure for me.”
A day later, she kicked off her WTA 1000 campaign against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and looked as comfortable on clay as she did on the red carpets, beating the veteran 6-3, 6-3.
“It felt great. I think the intensity was really high throughout the whole match, so I’m really happy to have been able to pull through,” the Filipina said.
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The 20-year-old was excellent on serve as she broke twice in both sets and won 76 per cent of her first serve points. She also saved five of the six break points she faced.
“That was one of the things going into the match that I really had to focus on was having a good percentage of first serves,” the 20-year-old said. “I know Anastasia is a big hitter, so I think that helped with my match today. There was a lot of focus.”
Playing on clay is never easy, but Eala – who is now 2-2 on the red dirt this year after losing in the second round of the Linz Open and first round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix – is starting to come to grips on the surface.
“It’s getting better every year. In general, I’m a better player this year than I was last year, so I’m really confident with that,” she said.
“Yeah, I’ve had some struggles on clay before, but I’ve also had some really great matches. There are still a couple of tournaments left, so I’m really excited.”
