Alexandra Eala advances at US Open in Major first for Philippines
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Alexandra Eala (above) producing a stunning comeback from 5-1 down in the third set to beat Clara Tauson 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (13-11) in the first round of the US Open at Flushing Meadows in New York on Aug 24.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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NEW YORK – Alexandra Eala became the first Filipino player to win a main-draw match at a Grand Slam in the professional era, beating 14th seed Clara Tauson in an opening-round upset at the US Open on Aug 24.
The 20-year-old burst into tears amid raucous support from the Grandstand crowd, as she produced a stunning comeback from 5-1 down in the third set to beat Tauson 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (13-11) after the 22-year-old Dane had twice served for the match.
“It means a lot, I think you could see by my reaction,” Eala told reporters.
“Everything just made it so special – from who I was playing to the crowd, it was amazing. I’m so blessed to be the first to do this. I take so much pride in representing my country.
“I’m so blessed to be the first to do this. It makes what I do bigger than myself, and it adds meaning to what I do.”
Eala is no stranger to big moments at Flushing Meadows, having made history in 2022 as the first Filipino to win a junior Grand Slam singles title.
Her breakthrough comes at the end of a season where she had already served notice of her talent.
She took down Australian Open champion Madison Keys and former world No. 1 Iga Swiatek during a giant-killing run to the semi-finals of the Miami Open in March.
The historic day for South-east Asia was sweetened by Janice Tjen, who became the first Indonesian in 22 years to win a match at a Major.
Tjen beat 24th seed Veronika Kudermetova 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 and will face Britain's Emma Raducanu, the 2021 champion, in the second round.
“I feel proud to be able to do this for my country,” Tjen said.
“Hopefully like this, by me making appearance here, will inspire more tennis players, like, younger kids to play tennis and also believing that they can be here too.”
Eala said that succeeding alongside Tjen made her achievement even more meaningful.
“I’m so happy to see the progress of tennis in South-east Asia in general,” she said. “I’ve known (Tjen) for a long time, so I’m happy for her.
“I’m happy that players from this region are coming up and starting to be successful.”
Eala will aim to carry her momentum into the second-round match on Aug 26 against either Spain's Cristina Bucsa or American qualifier Claire Liu.
“I think the key for my upcoming match is just to come in with the same mentality, same fight,” she added.
“Right now I’m just focused on recovering.
“That was a very tough match, but I think this will help long-term.” REUTERS, AFP
