Second-seeded Iga Swiatek said that she always felt an advantage over her Round of 64 opponent Alex Eala on the clay surface at the Madrid Open 2025.
Featuring on her favorite red dirt, the Pole had to come from behind, to clinch a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory over her Filipino opponent in what was a rematch of the Miami Open quarter-finals.
“On clay I feel like I have a little bit more advantage sometimes in the situations, where Alex could take more advantage on faster hard courts,” Swiatek stated.
“It wasn’t easy to get into the rhythm and feel the right timing, so I’m happy that I was just patient.
“I felt like I was making too many errors from everything, so there wasn’t like one specific adjustment I had to make.
“For sure I wanted to keep my margins and play a little bit more safe, to just play more balls in because I was making some unforced errors that weren’t really necessary,” she added.
Swiatek had a 88% win-loss ratio on clay with Thursday’s win taking her overall tally to 91-12.
When asked about the hype around her first round opponent, she said: “I understand that there is hype about the young players, but you gotta be focused on yourself, and honestly, I did not realise… I kind of had other things to think about.”
Eala recalled her win over Swiatek in Miami, pointing out that the Roland Garros champion had a better execution rate in the key moments in the Spanish capital.
“I’m happy with the match, happy with how I competed,” she said. “Obviously up a set and a break is a good situation to be in, but you have to remember that there’s another person on the other side of the court. More so, a multiple Roland Garros champion. She did well also … Things to take back and to learn.
“What was different (between Madrid and Miami) was that, in my opinion, was that she executed better in the important moments, and she had a little higher level than me in specific moments of the match.”
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