Eala vows to learn from Singapore stunner as Asiad stint beckons

MANILA, Philippines -- As the Japanese proverb said, if you fall down seven times, you must stand up eight. 

Following a stunning upset loss in the Singapore Tennis Open, Alex Eala is setting her sights on the Asian Games. 

Eala, ranked 18th in the world, absorbed the toughest loss of her career on Thursday evening, falling against World No. 180 Tatiana Prozorova, 6-4, 5-7, 3-6, in more than three hours of action. 

The Filipina was seeded third in the tournament, but had an early exit from WTA 500 event. 

After her match, Eala said that while she did everything she could on the court, she will need to focus on the learnings she had on the defeat. 

“Yeah, I think Tatiana played really well today. But, yeah, I think first, you just have to, like every loss, accept the fact that maybe she performed better today. And then, look at it, take the time to analyze, take the time to learn,” she said. 

The 21-year-old Filipina, who had a meteoric rise in the WTA rankings last year after having upset after upset in the Miami Open, said that the beauty of sports is the “constant evolution.” 

“I need to analyze and reconvene with my team and, you know, say, hey, we need to work on A, B, and C. And so I'll work on it. And I think that's the beauty of sports. That's the beauty of tennis. It's a constant, I guess, constant evolution. You're always learning,” she said. 

“And, yeah, in the end, you're going to have days like this where you battle three hours and it just doesn't go your way. So, yeah, I have to learn from it, but also not try to make it bigger than it needs to be.” 

The Asian Games’ tennis tournament will kick off on Sunday. 

Eala’s early exit will give her a few days’ rest before the Asiad. 

“It's hard to see a loss as a blessing in disguise. I would have wanted to win today. I would have wanted to go further in the tournament. But whether it's a blessing in disguise or not, it doesn't matter at the present. What matters to me is learning from this loss and preparing for my next match.”

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