Alexandra Eala continued her strong run at the ASB Classic with a dominant second-round win on Wednesday, sweeping past Croatia’s Petra Marcinko 6-0 6-2 to book her place in the next round in Auckland.
Eala was in control from the outset, racing through the opening set without dropping a game before navigating a brief challenge early in the second to close out the match in straight sets.
“I’m very happy with the match,” Eala said afterwards. “Different conditions from the night session that I played the other day. Overall, a great level.
“I think she had great shots, and at one point it became close, but I’m happy pulling off the win.”
The key moment came early in the second set. After Marcinko held serve, Eala found herself under pressure at 0-40 in the following game. She responded by holding firm, preventing her opponent from gaining a foothold in the match.
“I definitely think that helped,” Eala said. “It’s never easy. The further they go, the harder it is to come back. But she kept fighting, and I just had to stay there and be solid.”
Eala’s aggressive baseline play was again a feature of her performance, but she said knowing when to pull the trigger remains a work in progress.
“I think that’s a fundamental part of my game,” she said. “I try to be aggressive when I can and I try to recognise when it’s not the time to be aggressive, and that’s something I’m still working on.”
Eala has been one the stars of this ASB Classic and her profile continues to rise. Eala said she is careful not to frame the growing attention as pressure.
“A lot of people mention the word pressure when they talk about all this hype and attention,” she said.
“But you can’t take anything for granted. Coming from where I come from, and this whole journey I’ve had, this is a dream to play on the Tour and compete against these great players.
“So I don’t take anything for granted. All the support and all the love is an added bonus, and I’m very grateful for it.”