FOR the first time since she was a kid, Alexandra “Alex” Eala met her idol and tennis great Maria Sharapova. In an Instagram post on Tuesday, Sharapova shared behind-the-scenes footage from Eala’s guest appearance on her “Pretty Tough” podcast. “By very popular demand and rightfully so ... she’s the girl of the moment @alexeala (Alex Eala),” wrote Sharapova. “Tomorrow on PrettyTough I cannot wait for you to listen to this one,” the five-time Grand Slam champ added. Eala’s excitement was clearly visible upon meeting Sharapova again — one of her biggest idols in the tennis world, from her playing style to her fashion. “Oh my God. Oh my goodness. Nice to meet you,” Eala said in the video posted by Sharapova. Sharapova expressed her gratitude to Eala for taking the time to be part of her podcast. “Look at you. Thank you         for finding time for us,” Sharapova replied. After Eala’s historic third-round win over defending champ Iga Swiatek at Wimbledon last July, Sharapova called her a “star” in the comments section of a Wimbledon post. During Wimbledon, an old photo of a young Eala and Sharapova also went viral. In an interview with PopSugar last month, Sharapova expressed excitement over the future of the Filipino tennis sensation. “I’m always rooting for Coco Gauff, Alex Eala, who’s had an incredible summer, and I’m so excited about her future. Those two have come to mind,” said Sharapova Perhaps, Eala and Sharapova’s latest meeting had been in the works since Wimbledon. Eala is coming off a bronze medal finish at the 20th Asian Games in Japan. The 21-year-old returns to Tour action at the WTA 1000 Wuhan Open in China slated from Oct. 12 to 18. Ranked No. 18, Eala is expected to be the No. 15 seed in the tournament due to the withdrawals of injured players in world No. 1 Elena Rybakina, No. 11 Amanda Anisimova and No. 15 Victoria Mboko. Being No. 15 seed will be Eala’s highest-seeding in a 1000 tournament where she will have a first-round bye.