Alex Eala gears up for Coco Gauff after first-round thriller in Indian Wells

Dubai: Alex Eala is set for a rematch against Grand Slam champion Coco Gauff after a hard-fought three-set victory over Dayana Yastremska in her Indian Wells debut.

World No 32 Eala battled deep into the night against Yastremska, a former Australian Open semi-finalist. Despite the Ukrainian serving for the match late in the final set, the Filipina managed to turn the tide to win the last three games and seal a 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 victory.

This triumph marked the popular Filipino tennis star’s first-ever win at Indian Wells. But now, the 20-year-old faces one of the toughest challenges facing world No. 4 Coco Gauff in the third round.

Gauff began her campaign with a dominant win over Kamilla Rakhimova on Friday, dropping just two games in a recent victory over Eala at the Dubai Tennis Championships. With just weeks between that encounter and their upcoming match, Eala is eager to test herself once again against the reigning French Open champion.

“It’s not my first big match,” said Eala. “It’s definitely going to be tough. Coco is an incredible player, and she’ll have the crowd behind her, especially playing at home. But it’s just like any other match. I had to dig deep today, and I know I’ll need to do even more in the next one. I’m ready and looking forward to it.”

Eala had lost to Gauff 6-0. 6-2 in their previous encounter in the quarter-finals at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships last month.

Reflecting on her last match with Gauff, Eala emphasised the importance of learning from the encounter. “It was a tough match, and Coco played really well,” she added. “All I can do is take the lessons from that match and apply them next time.”

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