OPENING her singles and doubles campaign with victories, Alexandra “Alex” Eala aims to reach the deeper rounds at the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand, on Thursday.
The Filipino netter looks to make the quarterfinals of the singles division and the semifinals of the doubles category with American partner Iva Jovic.
World No. 53 Eala faces fellow 20-year-old and World No. 82 Petra Marcinko of Croatia in the singles round of 16, which, as of writing, is set at 8 a.m. in Manila barring any change or delay.
In the doubles quarterfinals at 10 a.m., Eala and Jovic battled the Czech-Mexican duo of Jesika Malečková and Renata Zarazúa.
Eala and Jovic got past the American-Ukrainian veteran tandem of Venus Williams and Elina Svitolina, 7-6(7), 6-1, on Monday to reach the last eight.
Buoyed by a Filipino diaspora crowd, Eala outlasted World No. 69 and Paris Olympics silver medalist Donna Vekić of Croatia, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, in a two-hour and 40-minute thriller to enter the round of 16 of the singles division.
“If there’s one thing I learned in 2025, it’s that home is the people and not the place,” said Eala, who enjoyed de facto home crowd support at the Tour last year and at the Southeast Asian Games in Thailand, where she won a gold medal.
“It’s so amazing just to have all these people show up. It definitely adds to the tension, the atmosphere and obviously the emotions after the match. So I’m grateful, I’m grateful that they took time out of their day to watch and support.”
Eala needs more of that from Filipino fans in Auckland as she takes on Marcinko, who is likewise coming off a gritty win in the opening round.
Marcinko topped Colombian Camila Osorio, 6-4, 0-6, 7-6(2), to set up a clash with Eala.
In the doubles side, Eala and Jovic need to be wary, too, as they face Malečková and Renata Zarazúa, who authored a comeback win in the round of 16 on Tuesday.
The Czech-Mexican tandem outdueled the American-Kiwi duo of Asia Muhammad and Erin Routliffe, 3-6, 6-2, 12-10.
