MANILA, Philippines — Can Alex Eala finally put an end to ‘the Curse of the Czech Republic’?
That is the question as the Filipino tennis ace faces another Czech player, Karolina Muchova, in the Miami Open fourth round (round of 16) on Monday.
Eala is unofficially 0-11 (not confirmed by WTA) against Czech players.
The latest of those losses came from world No. 13 Linda Noskova in their Indian Wells round of 16 clash, 2-6, 0-6, on March 11.
Now, world No. 29 Eala takes on No. 14 Muchova in the fourth round of the Miami Open, where the Filipino is seeded 31st and the Czech is 13th.
Muchova is nine years older than the 20-year-old Eala, sporting two WTA titles and going as high as No. 8 in the rankings.
Muchova defeated British Katie Boulter in their round of 32 encounter, 6-3, 7-5, Sunday morning in Manila.
A few hours later, Eala dropped Polish Magda Linette, 6-3, 7-6(2), to forge another match against a Czech player.