Double life

Alex Eala ended her Wimbledon breakthrough in three pulsating sets in the fourth round. Close match, she was right there in every point against the Italian foe she once beat before. But the Filipina lost to a more aggressive player. Alex seemed to play not to lose. Maybe beating the defending champion in the previous round was still on her mind. Tennis is mental, of the sharpest kind, as opposed to elections where the dumb and the stupid are empowered to be judgmental.

Sometimes you lose a match but win a mismatch. Just like in elections where deep discernment loses to shallow entertainment, in reference to electors who pick the clown rather than the crown. On paper the Filipina was not supposed to win against Iga Swiatek, currently world number three with multiple slams. But matches are played on court, this time on center court of the grandest of all grand slams, where the Filipina stood on the cusp of history amidst the grandeur and tradition of Wimbledon. She was not intimidated by the occasion, much less by the woman across the net, not even by the glamor crowd that included tennis greats and celebrities.

Fearless, the Filipina fought for every point like it was the last. She slipped and crawled on the green bruised grass and went for broke with a horizontal forehand. Just to return the ball. Do or die. Or dive. In full stretch, committed to every point, captured by the lens, immortalized to history.

Pure grit, not resilience. Or maybe it is. But in an entirely different context from the one devoured by plunderers. Keep the people poor, just give them crumbs from time to time and they will worship you for a lifetime. But not the world, it knows who to adore. It is the Filipina who best represents a people who least deserve representation.

The 21-year-old is humble, kind and sweet off court but morphs into a beast on court. She grunts, growls and roars to win and celebrate a point. She speaks well with a voice so deep and authoritative. At the same time sweet. She can in the future read news with clarity minus the embroidery. Not now when she is the news. The banner story no less.

Salute to her parents who raised her well. Curiously though, how do other parents raise their children to be good and honest yet they iconize plunderers and murderers? It defies logic, but the mismatch of faith and fake is more tragic.