By Al S. Mendoza
AGAIN, the old Alex Eala is back.
For, how else would you describe her victory Monday, Oct. 26, over Mika Stojsavljevic of Great Britain?
Eala fashioning out a brutal 6-1, 6-2 triumph in the first round of the WTA 500 Toray Pan Pacific was but a chilling reminder that our Filipino ace has rebounded mightily fast from that painful 7-5, 6-4 defeat to Russian Diana Shnaider just a week back.
Rejuvenating, to say the least.
That stinging second round loss to Shnaider came after Eala had totally destroyed France’s Dianne Parry 6-3, 6-1 in Round 1 of the Ningbo Open in China. An ego-booster, indeed, if not a totally spirit-uplifting show of thorough dominance.
After demolishing Stojsavljevic in 75 minutes, Eala blew kisses in utter joy to the crowd that were mostly Filipinos waving tiny Philippine flags at the Ariake Tennis Forrest Park in Tokyo, with the autumn wind starting to be nippy.
“Thank you very much to all my compatriots who continue to support me,” said a smiling Eala in Filipino to her fans, with one Filipino lady from the bleachers proudly raising a placard that read, “All the way from Guam to Tokyo.”
Eala added: “I think it was super important today to be focused on every single point. Playing against Mika for the first time was a great experience and I’m sure we will meet many, many more times again in the future.”
The US Open girl singles champion in 2024, Stojsavljevic is only 17 years old and will probably surpass her current height of 6-foot-1.
But, meanwhile, Eala should continue being focused as her opponent today, Wednesday, Talia Gibson, also showed a killer instinct in eliminating fellow Australian Daria Kasatkina, 6-0, 7-5, on Monday.
For, indeed, Eala, back to No. 19, cannot afford to miss a single beat as Gibson is ranked No. 38 in the world.
A win would further restore Eala’s confidence level since it’s been a while since she has gone past the second round.
Focus was what she previously lacked somewhat and Tokyo might yet be the detour to normalcy.
Sushi, if not sashimi, must wait a while.
THAT’S IT Congratulations to MTRCB (Movie and Television Review and Classification Board) Board Member Jojo Salomon and MTRCB executive Jam Tario for winning the recent Inter-Agency Pickleball tournament held at the Re-Play by Smash Plus Arena at G. Araneta Ave. Q.C. Salomon-Tario won by a runaway score of 11-1 in the Finals over the FDCP (Film Development Council of the Philippines) pair of Djamin Cruz and Rica Arevalo to bag the top prize of a weekend stay at the prestigious The Resthouse Laiya resort in San Juan, Batangas, for four persons. Placing third was the pair of MTRCB vice chairman Johnny Revilla and Ladi Magandia and fourth was the duo of MTRCB Board Member Bing Advincula and Edgardo L. Rivera. Trin Ebarle and Bobby Andrews were the other MTRCB players in the event that saw MTRCB compile 53 wins to emerge overall champion. Screen QC was the third team in the tournament (Film Academy of the Philippines withdrew) held to foster camaraderie and strengthen inter-agency relationship in the movie and television industry, with MTRCB headed by Chairperson Lala Sotto-Antonio as host and organizer. Disclosure: I take pride in highlighting the scintillating performances of BMs Salomon, Advincula, Ebarle and Andrews and VC Revilla and MTRCB staff Tario, Magandia and Rivera as I’ve been an MTRCB Board Member myself since 2016 like fellow BMs KitaKeats Musngi, Gaby Concepcion, Joey Romero and Val Sotto. So, lusty roars once more to JJ Champs Jojo and Jam, as well as to the rest of the participants! You are all winners to me! Cheers!
Leave a Reply