INDIAN WELLS, California — Riding in the momentum of a string of victories from her opening latch, tennis star Alexandra 'Alex' Eala face a tough test yet when she faces world's number 14 Linda Noskova of Czechia for a place in the quarterfinals of this year's prestigious BNP Paribas Open at the Induzn Wells Tennis Center in sunny California.

Running parallel to he astonidhing rise as among today's top-ranked competitors, the country's pride has also blossomed as a rusing star that has drawn sellout crowds in almost all her performances on the hardcourt.

“I hope I can make the best out of the momentum,” she enthusef in the post-match press conference following her huge 6-2, 2-0 (ret.) triumph over American ace Cori Dionne 'Coco' Gauff in the Round of 32.
Eala expects serious opposition from Noskova whom the 20-year-old Filipina netter describes as “an amazing player.”

“She’s very powerful and very experienced even at such a young age. I’m excited so I’m gonna go in with a good preparation and a lot of motivation,” Eala added.

All eyes are on her from the largely Filipino crowd that is expected to watch her play at Stadium 1 to see if their idol can extend her remarkable roll and secure a spot in the quarterfinals either against world's no. 7 Jasmine Paolini of Italy or Talia Gibson of Australia, who is ranked no. 112 in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA)'s list of top players.

Noskova, just a year older than Eala, is no stranger to her opponent as she had their face-offs in their junior days none bigger than the 2020 French Open girls’ singles, where the lefty Filipina pulled off a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 comeback win over her.

And six years later, they met again in the pros with bigger stakes up for grabs.

Aside from Eala and Noskova, top seeds Iga Swiatek of Poland (No. 2), Elena Rybakina of Kazakshtan (No. 3), Jessica Pegula of USA (No. 5) and Elina Svitolina of Ukraine (No. 9) have also rolled to the Round of 16 after defeating their respective rivals.

Swiatek swept No. 32 Maria Sakkari of Greece, 6-3, 6-3, Rybakina drubbed No. 28 Maria Kostyuk of Ukraine, 6-4, 6-4, Svitolina beat unseeded American Ashlyn Krueger, 6-4, 6-2, and Pegula escaped past No. 26 Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Meanwhile, the title defense of Russia's Mirra Andreeva met a bad-tempered end as Katerina Siniakova stunned the talented Russian teenager, 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 with the loser slinging her racquet as she approached the net before departing the court with a defiant gesture to the crowd.