WITH a potential encounter against world No. 2 Elena Rybakina in sight, Alex Eala of the Philippines looks to get back at Wang Xinyu of China in the WTA 1000 Italian Open round of 64 in Rome on Friday.
Game time is set at 4 p.m. (Manila time)
Eala, ranked 42nd in the world, and Wang, ranked 33rd, first met at the ASB Classic semifinals in Auckland, New Zealand last January.
Eala bowed to Wang in a hard-fought 7-5, 5-7, 4-6 decision.
Turning 21 years old on May 23, Eala began her campaign in the Italian Open with a 6-0, 3-6, 6-4 victory over No. 45 Magdalena Frech of Poland on Wednesday.
If Eala can hurdle past the 24-year-old Wang, her next possible opponent is the 26-year-old Rybakina.
The reigning Australian Open champ Rybakina is favored to win against world No.47 Maria Sakkari of Greece in the round of 64.
Eala, who struggled in her previous matches on clay court, said she is starting to get the hang of the tricky surface in the professional level.
“Of course, I’m starting to build that relationship, especially at this level,” said Eala in an interview with Tennis Channel.
“I’ve competed in clay many times growing up but playing professional is a different game. I thinks this is my first season where I’ve done this kind of high-level tournaments. I did the 500s in Linz and Stuttgart and then straight to the 1000s and Roland Garros.”
At age 13, Eala started training at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Spain. Known as the “King of Clay,” Nadal has won an Open Era record 63 clay-court singles titles, including a record 14 French Open championships.
“I’m finding my footing and I know that I can do well. I’m a much better player physically and mentally than I was last year,” Eala said.
”My team and I have been working really hard so I’m happy how I played this match (against Frech). Hopefully, the things we’ve been working on will reflect more in my game.”
Like Rybakina, Wang received a first-round bye in the tournament.
Wang last saw action at the 125 La Bisbal in Spain where she fell to Alina Charaeva in the round of 16 (second round), 5-7, 6-3, 6(1)-7.
