Alexandra Eala enjoyed a stellar week in Dubai, but was reminded just how far from the top of the sport she is in her most recent match.
After all, ahead of her clash with Coco Gauff, many were tipping the Filipina sensation to ride the wave of momentum and topple the out-of-sorts world number five.
In the end, those who felt that way could not have been more wrong.
The American came out firing, and at one point was just two games away from completing a double bagel 6-0, 6-0 scoreline.
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In the end, she had to settle for 6-0, 6-2.
Eala stated how far she felt from Gauff’s level in her post-match press conference, and has now explained how she plans to bridge that gap.
Alexandra Eala says she needs to improve in one key area
Asked what she will do in the coming months to decrease the distance between her and the WTA Tour’s elite players, the 20-year-old provided a measured answer.
However, she had one key takeaway, having reassessed an area of her game that must be improved.
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Alex Eala admitted: “In the next two months? I think I have time now before Indian Wells to try and reassess and improve, take a small break and build again because I’ve been on the road and competing week after week after week this year.
“So I think physically is something… I can reassess my physical state, trying to build up on more injury prevention and things like that, and I think that will reflect also in a game.
“I think that’s one of the things that can bridge the gap between myself and, you know, those top five players.”
Alexandra Eala achieves new career-high ranking after Dubai run
Despite the heavy nature of her defeat to Gauff, this has still been a week of great promise for Eala.
And, it came at the perfect time, just weeks before she will return to Miami defending plenty of ranking points after reaching the semifinals of that event last year.
This run in Dubai has actually helped lift her to new heights in the world rankings, posting a career-best position of 32nd.
It will be intriguing to see how she can build on that in the coming weeks before Miami, and then how she deals with the pressure of matching her previous over-performance at a WTA 1000 event.
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