FILIPINO tennis ace Alexandra “Alex” Eala faces Russian Tatiana Prozorova in the round of 16 to begin her campaign at the WTA 500 Singapore Tennis Open at The Kallang on Thursday. The time and court for the second-round match were not yet available as of writing. Earning a first-round bye as the No. 3 seed, world No. 18 Eala finally sees action nearly three weeks after her third-round exit at the US Open. Eala fell to world No. 13 Jokic, 5-7, 6-3, 5-7, on Sept. 6. Meanwhile, world No. 180 Tatiana Prozorova defeated No. 152 Sofia Costoulas of Belgium in their first-round clash, 5-7, 7-6(2), 6-2, to earn the right to face Eala. The 22-year-old Prozorova said the 21-year-old is like an octopus when it comes to court coverage. “It’s a good opponent. Well, I can say most times she’s aggressive, but I can adjust during a match to what my opponent is doing. I can manage my game style in a way and adapt to her style,” said Prozorova. “I’m trying to be a little smarter than the opponent. There are a lot of challenges. She’s very good. She’s like an octopus. She runs from side to side, and she puts a lot of pressure on her opponent. Even if she is in a very uncomfortable situation, she will hit it as strongly as she can.” In a media availability where she was asked what she is looking forward to in the tournament, Eala mentions the Filipino community and the Southeast Asian culture. “I used to compete here very often as a kid,” said Eala, who will compete at the Asian Games in Japan right after Singapore. “There’s obviously a very huge Filipino community. I do have close relatives here that whenever I was in town, I’d go see. I think just Southeast Asian culture in general is very close-knit. “We find that sense of community in each other. So even the Southeast Asian women on tour, I find myself gravitating toward. We can relate on things like SEA Games, and we know that that doesn’t happen for all the other players.”