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Alex Eala excited for 'full house' centre court in Canadian Open debut
Fresh off the biggest title of her career, Alex Eala is ready for another milestone as she gears up for her maiden Canadian Open appearance before what she expects to be a "full house" on Centre Court on Thursday morning (Philippine time).
The Filipina tennis star, who had just ruled the DC Open for her first WTA Tour singles title, is set for a rematch with Alycia Parks in the second round of the prestigious WTA1000 event.
With tickets sold out, Filipino fans are expected to pack the stadium to cheer for Eala.
And no one is more excited to see this than Eala herself.
"Yes, I've been told that it's going to be a full house tomorrow. So I'm really very excited to see and experience the atmosphere. It's nice to see that the Filipino community is really showing up," Eala said in the pre-tournament press conference.
"And they're enjoying tennis and, you know, hopefully it will help grow the sport as well and, in the end, give them something, a new experience and a joyful experience."
In her DC Open run, Eala's fans filled the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center, most especially during her rain-delayed finals against Jessica Pegula.
Even Pegula, as well DC Open owner Mark Ein, was in awe of how Eala's supporters came out even amid the bad weather that halted the championship match for a day.
Eala is expecting the same in her Canadian Open debut as she looks to carry the momentum and confidence from her DC Open run to her new campaign in Toronto.
"This recent milestone in DC, my first championship, it's been a crazy 24 hours. And my mind's just been going back and forth between focusing on the next match," Eala said.
"So I'm learning how to handle it. But yeah, I do understand that I'm playing another match tomorrow. So all my attention is going to be on that. I'm slowly transitioning while I have a day to transition."
—Bea Micaller/JKC, GMA News
