THE “Alex Eala” effect has reached Canadian star Félix Auger-Aliassime and he can’t wait to experience it first hand when they join forces for the US Open mixed doubles next week.
One of the wildcard pairs in the season’s final Grand Slam in Flushing Meadows, New York, the Filipina-Canadian tandem is expected to be the crowd darlings even among the sport’s biggest stars with world No. 4 Mr. Auger-Aliassime crediting it to the 21-year-old rising star.
“It is a great opportunity because I did not play last year. This time around, I get to feel what it’s like to have the ‘Eala effect’ and a fan base behind me,” said the 26-year-old ace on The Tennis Channel after a Round of 16 exit in WTA 1000 Cincinnati Open on Thursday in Mason, Ohio.
“It’s kinda funny because she’s younger than me but I feel like she has the fan base and she’s carrying the crowd so it’s going to be interesting.”
Ms. Eala, buoyed by the ever passionate Filipino fans, indeed has been the biggest revelation in international tennis as of late by rising as the one of the most in-demand players on site and on online with staggering numbers as admitted by WTA organizers themselves.
Ranked No. 20 in the world, the ace from Manila has packed venues in every city she’s in and garnered millions of engagement, drawing an entirely different demographic from the sports-crazed Philippines to the tennis world.
Among those was a rockstar treatment in Mr. Auger-Aliassime’s home country when Ms. Eala only settled for a Round of 16 finish in the WTA 1000 National Bank Open in Toronto but filled the Sobeys Stadium to the rafters every match.
Ms. Eala, who came off a Round of 32 exit in the WTA 1000 Cincinnati Open as her final tourney before the US Open, pulled a crowd so big that it included super fans dressed as “Raptors” as a nod to Toronto’s NBA team.
“I am eternally grateful. Maraming salamat, mga kababayan. Mahal ko kayong lahat,” Ms. Eala said then, reiterating that home is not the place but the Filipino people. “It is really the pleasure of my life to experience these things.”
Ms. Eala and Mr. Auger-Aliassime will need every cheer when they plunge into action on Aug. 25 ahead of their singles’ campaigns on Aug. 30 to Sept. 13 against a stacked mixed doubles cast led by 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia and world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus.
Also in the fray are the super tandems of WTA doubles No. 1 Katerina Siniakova of Czechia and ATP doubles No. 2 Henry Patten of Great Britain, reigning champion pair of Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori of Italy, as well as second-placers Iga Swiatek of Poland and Casper Ruud of Norway.
WTA doubles No. 2 Taylor Townsend of USA and ATP singles No. 3 Alexander Zverev of Germany, Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina and USA’s Taylor Fritz, along with USA’s Jessica Pegula and Jack Draper of Great Britain are also in. — John Bryan Ulanday