Poland's Iga Swiatek returns the ball to Philippines' Alexandra Eala during their 2025 WTA Tour Madrid Open tennis tournament second round singles match at the Caja Magica in Madrid, on April 24, 2025. Thomas Coex, AFP

For a set and a half, it looked like lightning might strike twice.

Filipino teen Alex Eala, just a month removed from her stunning upset of Iga Swiatek in Miami, came out swinging and stole the opening set against the defending champion on the clay courts of the Mutua Madrid Open.

But Iga Swiatek recalibrated her game mid-match to outlast the 19-year-old, winning 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 in a gritty second-round battle.

“From the beginning I didn’t play smoothly,” Swiatek admitted after the match. “But I managed to solve some problems, and at the end I won.”

 Tennis: Alex Eala gives Swiatek a scare before falling short in Madrid

Eala took advantage of Swiatek’s early unforced errors, dictating points and capitalizing on Swiatek’s struggles with Madrid’s altitude and shifting weather conditions. 

“It was my first match here,“ Swiatek said. “I felt like I was making too many errors from everything.” 

“The balls were for sure flying a little bit out of control from my racquet, so I got the tension a little bit higher in the second set, and then it was better,” she added. 

It was a tactical shift that worked for Iga to change the tone of the match in the deciding set.  

Eala stayed composed and continued to compete hard, but Swiatek found her rhythm in the third, racing through the final set with a mix of precision and aggression.

 Tennis: Iga Swiatek banks on clay court experience in rematch vs. Alex Eala

After the match, Swiatek headed straight back to the practice court. “I just felt like there are some stuff I need to work on, and it was best to do it right after, so the body can remember the good movement,” she explained.

Though the result didn’t go Eala’s way, the young Filipina showed once again she belongs on the biggest stages — taking the world No. 2 to three sets on her less-favored surface.