ALEXANDRA EALA created tennis history at the US Open on Sunday by becoming the first player from the Philippines to win a Grand Slam singles match.
The 20-year-old from Quezon City produced a stunning comeback to defeat Danish 14th seed Clara Tauson 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (13/11) in a thrilling first round encounter.
Eala recovered from a 5-1 deficit in the deciding set to secure her historic victory on the Grandstand court at Flushing Meadows.
“I’m super over the moon with what I was able to do today, especially coming back in the third,“ Eala said.
The breakthrough victory follows her impressive run to the Miami Open semi-finals in March where she defeated Australian Open champion Madison Keys and former world number one Iga Swiatek.
Eala, who won the US Open girls title in 2022, expressed immense pride in representing her country on the global stage.
“I’m so blessed to be the first to do this,“ Eala said. “I take so much pride in representing my country. It makes what I do bigger than myself, and it adds meaning to what I do.”
The young champion collapsed to the court in emotional celebration after clinching the dramatic tiebreak victory.
“I was just so over the moon, and it was just such a rush of emotions,“ she said.
Eala credited her previous experiences with tight matches for helping her maintain composure during the crucial moments.
“I think so many factors made the match so special. I’ve been on the losing side of these tight tiebreaks before, so to be on the winning side, it’s very memorable.”
The historic win came on the same day that another Southeast Asian player, Indonesia’s Janice Tjen, scored an upset victory against 24th seed Veronika Kudermetova.
Eala expressed excitement about the growing tennis talent emerging from the Southeast Asian region.
“I’m so happy to see the progress of tennis in Southeast Asia in general,“ Eala said. “I’ve known (Janice) 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.”
The Philippine tennis star plans to maintain her fighting spirit throughout the remainder of the tournament.
“The key for my upcoming match is just to come in with the same mentality, same fight,“ she said. “Right now I’m just focused on recovering.” – AFP
