Alexandra Eala emerged victorious on her Indian Wells debut after beating Dayana Yastremska in the first round.
Playing her very first match at the WTA 1000 competition, Eala drew first blood in the match, but was forced to a third set by the defiant Ukrainian.
The Filipino sealed the win in the decider, however, winning 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 to advance to round three, where she will take on fourth seed Coco Gauff.
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The match between Eala and Yastremska went on late into the night, but the Filipino-dominated crowd stayed until the end.
After her win, the 20-year-old took a moment to thank her fans for their support in her post-match press conference.
Alex Eala comments on her fans at the Indian Wells Open
“It means the world to have this community behind me in such a prestigious tournament,” said Eala.
“For them to make the effort to stay up late and stay in the cold and cheer me on, so it really added to the feelings and the emotions after the match, yeah.”
Asked about the nighttime conditions, Eala said: “The balls, they may be a little bit heavier at night. But of course, the difficulty with night matches is the time. It’s night.
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“I finish now, it’s past midnight, and by the time I’m able to do all my routines and, you know, calm down my adrenaline, I don’t know what time I’ll be able to sleep, but this is the life.
“You know, I’m happy to be here. Playing at night is also a good sign. So, yeah, I adjust and I’m just happy that I got the win today.”
Alex Eala’s last match against Coco Gauff on the WTA Tour
Eala will look to put in a much better performance against her next opponent, Gauff, after their last meeting on the WTA Tour.
They clashed for the very first time in February at the Dubai Tennis Championships, where, once again, Eala had the crowd on her side.
But Gauff was unfazed by the one-sided crowd, and delivered a dominant performance against Eala in the quarterfinals.
She beat her in straight sets, 6-0, 6-2, before going on to lose to Elina Svitolina in the semifinals.
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