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| After six years, Alex Eala battles Alina Charaeva again, this time at the WTA level. Glad Pillejera |
MANILA—Alex Eala's much-anticipated home stand in the Philippine Women's Open begins with a showdown against a familiar opponent, Alina Charaeva.
As revealed on Saturday, Eala, currently ranked 49th in the world by the WTA, will face Charaeva, currently ranked 163rd, in one of the Round of 32 showdowns slated at the start of the main draw on Monday.
Eala and Charaeva last faced off in an ITF event in 2020, where Charaeva got the better of Eala, 6-3, 6-3.
However, Eala steadily went on a rise since they both moved to the WTA circuit, winning one WTA 125 chip, making the finals of WTA Tour events twice, and even scoring a grand slam match win at the US Open last year.
Although it took six years for the rematch to be set, Eala still remembered how kind Charaeva had been before.
"She's a very nice person and a great player," Eala said.
Eala, though, believes she is well-prepared for the match, all the more so since she was fresh off a stint at the Australian Open.
"I'm just going to go, and I've done everything to prepare to the best of my ability," Eala further said.
Three more Filipinas are in the main draw.
Tenny Madis plays world number 197 Mananchaya Sawangkaew of Thailand, Elizabeth Abarquez takes on world number 244 Mai Hontama of Japan, and Kaye Emana battles world number 174 Tatiana Prozorova of Russia.
A fifth player from the host nation, Stefi Aludo, could join in too if she beats world number 298 Sakura Hosogi of Japan in the final round of the qualifying phase on Sunday.
