Tatiana Prozorova of Russia hugs her coach after beating Alex Eala in the round-of-16 of the Singapore Tennis Open, September 25, 2026 at the OCBC Arena. Jeff Canoy, ABS-CBN News
World No. 180 Tatiana Prozorova knew her match against Filipina sensation Alex Eala was going to be loud, so she prepared for it.
The 22-year-old Russian upset third seed Alex Eala, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, in the second round of the Singapore Tennis Open.
"It feels amazing. Really amazing. No words right now to describe it," Prozorova said after the match. "An amazing battle, an amazing match against Alex Eala."
She had done her homework on what to expect from the Eala crowd.
"I knew that she's a very good fighter. And I was preparing myself before today's match because every time players play against her, it's tough. She has very big fans from the Philippines. Today, I also saw how they supported her," she said. "But I'm glad that I was calm during the match and didn't react. I just focused on my match, my style."
She explained that the noise at the start of the match was something she had mentally braced for.
"I remember how the match started. The crowd was very noisy. They gave her a lot of support. But I was preparing myself because I understand that it will be very common in the future when we play against players whose countries are very close to each other. The opponent will have a lot of fans. So it's normal. Just normal," she said.
Her husband, who also serves as her coach, helped her stay mentally grounded going in.
"My husband, also my coach, helped me prepare mentally just to be ready for this and not react. And I did it," she said.
Throughout the match, Prozorova said she never allowed herself to think about winning—just fighting.
"I didn't have any feelings like I could win the match. I just had the feeling that I should fight till the end and believe in myself and just do what I do usually and it works," she said.
"Sometimes you don't need to think about the future, what you can do or what you couldn't do. Just believe, trust and work. And that's all."