Manny Pacquiao or Rafael Nadal? Alex Eala gets a tricky question

Alex Eala recently found herself in an awkward spot when asked to choose between two sporting legends.

During a “this or that” game with CNA Lifestyle, the 21-year-old Filipino tennis star was asked to pick between boxing icon Manny Pacquiao and tennis great Rafael Nadal.

Eala, however, refused to take the bait. “Guys, that’s not fair. You guys did me dirty,” she laughed before opting not to answer the question.

While Eala avoided that difficult choice, she will face a familiar challenge as she begins her bid for the Singapore Open title.

First round bye

The Filipino is set to make her debut in the Singapore Open main draw on Wednesday, entering directly into the second round after receiving a first-round bye. She will face the winner of Belgium’s Sofia Costoulas and Russia’s Tatiana Prozorova.

Prozorova advanced after rallying past Costoulas 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in their first-round clash on Monday. The Russian had also beaten Costoulas in their most recent meeting at the Philippine Open quarter-finals in January.

Eala has been handed a favourable draw at the WTA 500 tournament and enters as the No. 3 seed following the withdrawals of several higher-ranked players, including Jessica Pegula, Diana Shnaider and Sorana Cirstea.

Mirra Andreeva is the top seed, with Amanda Anisimova seeded second, while defending champion Elise Mertens is the No. 4 seed.

Eala, currently ranked No. 18 in the world, has already enjoyed a breakthrough season on the WTA Tour. She captured her maiden WTA title at the Washington Open in August, defeating Pegula in the final.

Now, the 21-year-old will look to build on that success as she targets another deep run in Singapore.