Coco Gauff vs Alexandra Eala
“I see why people want to root for her. I root for her when I’m not playing her.”
Those words came from the ever gracious Coco Gauff.
She referred to Alexandra Eala, the 20-year-old sensation from the Philippines backed by numerous, passionate fans wherever she plays around the world — just like the 19-year-old from Brazil, Joao Fonseca.
After Eala’s late-night comeback against Dayana Yastremska in her Indian Wells debut on Friday, her followers on Instagram rose from around 960,000 to 967,000.
Gauff knows what it’s like to be in the spotlight herself, attracting attention ever since her junior days. Now 21 and a two-time Grand Slam winner, the Floridian counts 2.3 million followers on Instagram.
They begin the night session at Stadium 1.
The numbers all added up in Gauff’s favor in the Dubai quarterfinals last month, with the world No. 4 prevailing 6-0, 6-2 in 69 minutes.
“Coco is an amazing player and playing at home,” Eala, seeded No. 31, told reporters after downing Yastremska. “I’m expecting a big crowd to rally behind her just because she’s amazing.
“It was a tough match for me last time. I think she played really well. So all I can do is take the learnings that I have from our last match and try to implement that in our next one.”
Eala tries for a fourth Top 10 win, a year after the lefty got her first two as a wildcard ranked 140th in Miami against Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek.