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Rising tennis star Eala stays focused at Madrid Open despite more attention on her

Related Topics: Alexandra Eala, Viktoriya Tomova

MADRID (AP) — Teenage sensation Alexandra Eala is trying to stay grounded despite all the sudden attention she's attracted following her breakthrough run in Miami.

The 19-year-old Eala, a product of Rafael Nadal's academy, has climbed to No. 72 in the WTA rankings after reaching the Miami Open semifinals as a wild-card entry last month. She's the first Filipina to be ranked inside the top 100.

“Now that the dust has settled, I try not to think about Miami so much,” she said. “Of course, it comes to mind when everyone’s asking, but in my mind I have my whole life to look back at those moments and I’ll always have those memories.