Alex Eala delivered a performance of a lifetime after routing Czech Republic’s Lucie Havlickova, 6-2, 6-4, to clinch her first US Open Girls Singles title in Flushing Meadows Saturday, Sept. 10 (early Sunday in Manila).
It was a historic victory for the 17-year-old junior tennis sensation, as she became the first Filipino to ever win a Grand Slam singles crown.
She only made it as far as the semifinals in the 2020 French Open, and previously claimed titles in the Girls Doubles – at the 2020 Australian Open with Indonesian Priska Nugroho and the 2021 French Open with Russian Oksana Selekhmeteva.
So impressive was her journey to the top where she did not drop a set throughout the tournament with only Australia’s Taylah Preston and Canada’s Victoria Mboko forcing her to a tiebreaker.
“Buong puso ko po itong pinaglaban hindi lang para sa sarili ko kundi para makatulong din ako sa kinabukasan ng Philippine tennis,” Eala said during the on-court interview.
Seeded 10th in the tournament, Eala dictated the pace in the opening set by breaking her second-seeded opponent’s serve twice.
The Filipina ace encountered stiff competition in the second frame where she trailed 3-2 and 4-3, but was able to hold serve in the eighth game to tie it at 4-4.
A huge service break for Eala gave her the crucial 5-4 lead before closing the match with crisp serves and huge shots.
“It was overwhelming for me right now, but it’s a huge step for me personally. I’m just happy to be able to contribute and inspire the young generation,” said Eala during the post-match interview.
En route to the final, Eala crushed Canadian Annabelle Xu in the first round, 6-3, 6-0; Slovakian Nina Vargova in the second round, 6-2, 6-3; eighth-seeded Preston in the third, 6-2, 7-6 (1); Russian 14th seed Mirra Andreeva in the quarters, 6-4, 6-0; and ninth-seeded Canadian Mboko in the semis, 6-1, 7-6 (5).
She also competed in the Girls Doubles with Andreeva where they were seeded fourth but managed only to finish in the second round after they handed a walkover to Germans Carolina Kuhl and Ella Seidel.