ALL ROADS lead to the Big Apple as Alexandra “Alex” Eala — with an entire nation rallying behind her — marches into the biggest tournament of her young and blooming career yet.
Better, stronger and fiercer since debuting in New York last year, the Filipina prides takes on home bet Mary Stoiana in Round 2 of the US Open on Wednesday at the Louis Armstrong Stadium in Flushing Meadows, seeking another breakthrough to rise even higher in the world tennis echelon.
With 14,000 seats, the Louis Armstrong Stadium is the second-largest at the USTA Billie Jean King Tennis Center, next only to the 23,000-seater Arthur Ashe Stadium as the biggest not only in the United States but in the world.
And it’s expected to be dominated by the ever-passionate Filipinos from all over the world up to the rafters as Ms. Eala rides on the largest wave of momentum in her professional career just yet.
“I’ve experienced so much growth since playing in the past here,” said Ms. Eala, looking to turn “Pinoy Power” into her own against WTA No. 122 Ms. Stoiana, a former US NCAA MVP from Texas A&M who scooped up three wins in the qualifiers to advance to her first-ever Slam main draw stint. “It’s just excitement all over. I’m very excited to be back.”
Ms. Eala, then No. 75, debuted in the US Open main draw last year with 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (13-11) stunner on then-world No. 15 Clara Tauson of Denmark.
Thanks to a banner year marked by seven wins (9-5 overall) against Top 10 players and a maiden WTA Tour title in Washington, the 21-year-old Filipina pride is now world No. 18 and will enjoy the highest Grand Slam seeding ever for Philippine tennis at No. 17.
Add that to her Round of 16 finish in Wimbledon, the highest for any Filipino in any major, plus the anticipated massive crowd as per US Open organizer Eric Butorac, and Ms. Eala could be in for an even bigger floodgates to shatter.
Ticket sales and prices, according to the US Open and TicketData tracker, at the said stadium skyrocketed with the get-in price doubling from $200 to $400 after the announcement of Ms. Eala’s Round 1 schedule and court designation on Sunday.
“We knew it had to be in a major stadium. We thought that’s a great place to start but I’ve already kind of monitored some of the secondary pricing and that session is blowing up. It’s just amazing to see. I can’t wait to have her out there, late at night and see all the Filipino crowd behind her. It’s gonna be really special,” he said.
For Ms. Eala, that should serve as enough motivation to aim for a deeper run than Wimbledon in spite of a gauntlet waiting down the line of a powerhouse 128-woman field for the season’s final Grand Slam.
A win by Ms. Eala would arrange a duel against either No. 46 Oleksandra Oliynykova of Ukraine or No. 431 Reese Brantmeier of the United States in Round 2 of the lower half of the draw that also includes No. 14 Iva Jovic and No. 4 Coco Gauff of USA, No. 5 Mirra Andreeva of Russia and No. 2 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan in the succeeding rounds. World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus spearheads the upper half of the US Open bracket.
It’s go time and Ms. Eala couldn’t be as ready as ever.
“There have been so many milestones since (my last match here) and there have been so many lessons. I’ve gotten to work closely with so many amazing players and I’ve gotten to compete with the best of the best a lot more frequently,” she beamed.
“I have a pretty strong baseline of belief in myself. I think it has remained quite steady and maybe, I’m on a slow incline now and what’s important is to have that foundation of knowing what I can do.”
Ms. Eala for the past week had been in a bevy of promotional features, guesting and finishing touches of her preparations. Name it: mixed doubles debut with world No. 4 Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada, Stars of the Open exhibition with good friend Ms. Jovic, features on Sports Illustrated, Forbes, ESPN and the New York, training with Venus Williams and Naomi Osaka as well as a stage guesting on Andy Roddick’s Served podcast at the sidelines of Flushing Meadows.
She had an encounter with NBA champion and compatriot Jordan Clarkson of the home team New York Knicks, too, eyeing to replicate the run in the different world of tennis.
Good thing for Ms. Eala, she will not be alone in marching into battle with an army of kababayans at her back for balikatan and bayanihan. — John Bryan Ulanday