Gauff lauds Eala’s maturity, resilience

Alex Eala may still be young, but Coco Gauff noticed her maturity and resilience in the face of adversity during their women’s doubles campaign in the Italian Open.

Gauff, the third-best player in the world, said she was greatly impressed at how Eala carried herself during pressure-packed situations in their doubles bid that ended with a quarterfinal loss to an Italian pair at the Grand Arena Stadium in Rome.

Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini made sure that there would be no hometown upset when they booked a 5-7, 6-3 (7-10) win over Gauff and Eala in the Last Eight of this prestigious Women’s Tennis Association 1000 event.

Still, Gauff lauded her 19-year-old partner, who is fast becoming the toast of international tennis after her quarterfinal run in the Miami Open last month.

“Many times I’ve apologized to her, but she’s quick, she’s fast, so she’s there to cover for me,” said Gauff, who is also competing in the women’s singles of the Italian Open.

“You know how they say you don’t forget how to ride a bike? Doubles, you definitely forget how to play. I told her ‘I’m like ice on the net — that’s what I feel like,” she said.

The Eala-Gauff partnership, fondly called “CoLa” by tennis fans worldwide, might be short, but it definitely made a big splash in the tournament.

They started their doubles campaign with a sweep over Alexandra Panova of Russia and Fanny Stollar of Hungary, 6-3, 6-1, in the Round of 32 in just 59 minutes. Then, they breezed past the Italian pair of Tyra Grant and Lisa Pigato, 6-2, 6-3, in the Round of 16 to make it to the quarterfinals.

Gauff recalled how Eala carried her during their match against Grant and Pigato.

“And in our match yesterday, she definitely got MVP (Most Valuable Player) for that. I was just kind of there. So, I told her sometimes I forget how to play because it’s been a while. It’s just one of those things,” Gauff continued.

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