The former No. 1 has been watching the action with vested interest. Getty Images / Matt Fitzgerald for Tennis ChannelHe’s watching, always watching!Despite retiring from the tennis tour last fall, Rafael Nadal is still keeping tabs on current events—and has been loving the performances of two of his namesake tennis academy’s students at the Miami Open.Alexandra Eala of the Philippines and Coleman Wong of Hong Kong have turned heads in the early days of the second leg of the Sunshine Double, making history for their respective nations in the process. Both are through to the third round in national firsts, scoring big upsets along the way.On Friday, Eala upset former Roland Garros champion and Miami’s No. 25 seed Jelena Ostapenko, becoming the first woman representing the Philippines to defeat a Top 30 player since at least 1975—the year WTA rankings were first published. The teenager, who has trained at Nadal’s academy in Mallorca since age 13, was overcome with emotions after the victory, and Nadal took notice for the implications for both the former US Open junior champion and the short history of tennis in the archipelagic nation of nearly 115 million.”Congratulations Alex! What a great win for you and for [the Philippines],” Nadal wrote on X, formerly Twitter.Congratulations Alex! What a great win for you and for 🇵🇭! 👏🏻 https://t.co/mfEM7PR6o9A day later, Hong Kong’s Wong, ranked No. 182, became the second-lowest ranked man to reach Miami’s third round with a 7-6(3), 2-6, 7-6(5) upset of No. 13 seed Ben Shelton. Despite letting a 5-2 third-set lead go, the 20-year-old regrouped in the tiebreak to become the first man representing Hong Kong to defeat a Top 20 player since the ATP rankings were published in 1973.His first-round win over Germany’s Daniel Altmaier was historic, too, as the first Masters 1000-level win for a player from Hong Kong.”There is a lot of effort behind these victories,” Nadal wrote in another X post. “We are very proud of you, Coleman! A historic win for Hong Kong.”There is a lot of effort behind these victories. We are very proud of you, Coleman! ☺️ A historic win for Hong Kong 👏🏻 https://t.co/3XtlJkiy0PBoth players have given effusive credit to Nadal’s academy and roster of coaches for their development. Wong, who said after his victory that he didn’t play tennis for a year-and-a-half as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, made the decision with his parents, both educators, to move to Spain three years ago at age 17. He credits the move with his ability to even chase a professional career.Eala, meanwhile, has dubbed Nadal her idol.”He is so grounded and he has achieved more than anything I could dream of,” Eala once told Philippine broadcast network GMA, “and the fact that he is still so nice to everyone around here is very admirable from him.”Eala next has a date with No. 5 seed and Australian Open champion Madison Keys in the third round, while Wong will face lucky loser Adam Walton of Australia.You can bet Nadal will be watching.
