Eala a mere fraction of herself

By Al S. Mendoza

THE dream run is over.

 But not the celebration.

And the adulation.

 Yes, Belinda Bencic put an end to Alex Eala’s magnificent ride yesterday with a 6-4, 6-0 victory, but that did not mean the party is kaput. It’s only been adjourned.

Eala’s fans all over the world will continue celebrating, never turning their back to, never brushing aside, that immense seven-match winning streak that Alex had so brilliantly compiled before absorbing yesterday’s defeat in the Round of 16 of the National Bank Open in Toronto, Canada.

 One loss does not define a warrior.

 One hiccup does not bring closure to a journey.

 One bump does not erase Eala’s odyssey.

 The interruption is but a part of the ultimate aim:  sweet victory as in the nectar of Crucifixion.

A true fighter will pause for a much-needed rest in the embrace of the night, rise at the break of dawn and resume the hunt for glory. 

 The cheers will draw to a halt—but will never be muffled.

They will roar again in no time.

 The veneration accorded Eala since she started her trail-blazing mania in the current season will continue—and will even grow robustly—as she is only 21 years old.  For, the truth is, she’s just begun showing her fangs, actually.

 Against Bencic yesterday, Eala was visibly a mere fraction of herself.

 Constant battles that saw her win her first WTA 500 title in Washington DC before the Toronto event had really wrought havoc on Eala, stamina- and energy-wise.

It was crystal clear that Eala played as though a sack of rice was on her shoulder, her feet chained to a wrecking ball.

 She could barely move, her strokes mostly as limp as ramen noodles, her strategy as dull as a beginner’s.

 In short, Eala, admittedly, played like someone taking lessons from a master in Bencic, a veteran 29-year-old from Flawil, Switzerland, with 10 titles across her name to Alex’s solitary trophy from the recent Mubadala Open.

 So devastatingly dominant was the 5-foot-9 Bencic, a mother of one, that she practically resurrected herself as the event’s champion 11 years ago in 2015, rarely missing shots as she only had six unforced errors to Eala’s 15 while smashing away 23 winners to Alex’s 16.

 But Eala took everything in stride, waving to the predominantly-Filipino crowd as she left the court, smiling sweetly as though she was the winner.

 In a sense, she was.  Her body gave up, but not her mind.