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Reigning Madrid Open champion Iga Swiatek narrowly avoided another upset on clay against a young upstart. The world No. 2 has had an uneven start to her 2025 season, by her standards. Swiatek has not won a tournament so far this year. But now the heavy hitter is playing on her favorite surface, clay, where she'll be a favorite in most tournaments. The five-time major champion almost lost a second straight match on clay before a late surge propelled her over Alexandra Eala.
Eala is a 19-year-old from the Philippines who is rising up the WTA ranks. She recently had her breakthrough run at the Miami Open, making it all the way to the semifinals. On this run, the now world No. 71 player pulled a shocking upset over Swiatek in the quarterfinals. And for a while, it looked like Alexandra was going to continue that winning streak over the defending Madrid champion.
After dropping the first set, Swiatek eventually raised her form and rallied for the 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory. After winning this second-round clash, Iga will now move on to the round of 32 to take on another young upstart, Linda Noskova. In an interview with the Associated Press, the four-time champion broke down what she thought was the difference this time against Eala.
“On clay, I feel like I have a little bit more advantage sometimes in the situations, where Alexandra could take more advantage on faster hard courts. Understand that there's hype about these young players, but you got to be focused on yourself.”
Everyone knows what Swiatek is capable of on this surface. The 23-year-old is a four-time French Open champion and has won this Slam three years in a row. Even with the recent dominant form of world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, Iga will head to Roland Garros as a heavy favorite. That being said, she does feel a little more vulnerable than usual right now and hasn't won a tournament since last year's French Open.
Overall, if Swiatek can win this Masters 1000 tournament, she'll quell any concerns about her recent form. It's a long road to this repeat, but if Iga plays up to her level, no one in this era can beat her on clay.
