(UPDATE) FILIPINO tennis ace Alexandra "Alex" Eala eyes an upset against world No. 4 Coco Gauff as they face in a rematch in the WTA 1000 BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden Stadium 1 on Monday.
The round of 32 clash is set for 9 a.m. in Manila but could be delayed depending on the first matches at the same 16,000-seater stadium.
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and no. 35 Jaqueline Cristian battle on the court first followed by a couple of ATP matches before the Eala-Gauff contest.
World No. 32 Eala first took on Gauff at the Dubai Tennis Championships nearly three weeks ago, with the American beating her soundly, 6-0, 6-2.
Eala, who outlasted Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska in her tournament debut last Saturday, 7-5, 4-6, 7-5, expects another tough match against Gauff, especially since she's playing at home.
“It’s not my first huge match," said Eala, who actually teamed up with Gauff at the Italian Open doubles where they reached the quarterfinals last year.
"I think it’s definitely going to be tough. Coco is an amazing player and she’s playing at home so I’m expecting a big crowd to rally behind her just because she’s amazing.
“But it’s like every other match. Today I had to dig really deep so I’m expecting that the next match I have to do even more. I’m ready and I'm looking forward to it."
Like the 31st seed Eala who came back a 4-5 game deficit in the third set against Yastresmka, the fourth seed Gauff also authored a gusty comeback in her round of 64 clash last Saturday.
Just a year older against Eala, the 21-year-old Gauff battled back from 2-5 and 5-6 second-set disadvantages to oust qualifier Kamilla Rakhimova,6-3, 7-6(5). Gauff, who turns 22 on March 13, expressed confidence in her service and return game.
“I think I'm pretty confident in my return, so I feel like I know I'm always going to get most of the time one of the two return points almost on every swing,” said Gauff.
"Then after that, it's just more so my serve. Also, I think fitness-wise, obviously tiebreakers are usually later in the match, so I think I'm able to just get that extra ball back, be mentally there.”