Elina Svitolina has been playing some of the best tennis of her career over the last year, and is a threat to win any tournament she enters. But in the quarterfinals of the Berlin Open on Friday, Svitolina could have been seeing the future of tennis in the person of 21-year-old Alexandra Eala.
The Filipina had already beaten the two-seed and WTA No. 2 Elena Rybakina in Berlin, and she sometimes needed to grind through that match to do so. Such matches are just excellent learning experiences, but opportunities to gain confidence for bigger game, too.
After all, Eala has won two titles in her career, but both of those were just WTA 125 events. She hasn't won a 500 or higher, but she might be on the cusp of doing just that. After defeating Svitolina in the quarters, she will face Linda Noskova in the semifinals in Berlin. Should she get past that match, high-end veterans Aryna Sabalenka or Jessica Pegula would await.
Alexandra Eala takes one more step toward winning her first WTA 500 tournament
In other words, Eala could be nearly ready to fully announce she is ready to challenge for Masters 1000s and Grand Slams titles, and Wimbledon is just around the corner. Could the Filipina take that grass-court major? If she continues to play as she has in Berlin, sure.
She jumped out to a big lead in the first set against Svitolina, but then allowed the Ukrainian to get back into the set. From 4-1, the set was suddenly 4-3 in favor of the Filipina. She was able to course correct, though, and Svitolina wouldn't win another game in the set.
A straightforward start in the second set quickly changed as Eala was able to stack breaks of her opponent and led 5-2 until she was broken herself. Her lead still seemed insurmountable, however, and through precise shot-making and brilliant returning, she was a threat to break Svitolina at any point.
The Ukrainian even tried to be a bit more aggressive and take more risks, and that allowed her to get back to 4-5 in set two, though Alexandra Eala simply needed to hold to move into the semifinal of the Berlin Open. She was able to do so after going down 0-30, but won the final four points of the set and match.
With the victory, Eala is up to No. 30 in the live WTA rankings. Her next step in trying to win her first-ever WTA 500 tournament won't be easy, though. Linda Noskova is going to be difficult to defeat on a grass court.
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