ALEXANDRA “ALEX” EALA is rallying behind her friend Coco Gauff to win it all in the US Open.
“Well, very highly stacked draw at this point in the quarters but I have to say, though, I am rooting for Coco,” said Ms. Eala during her historic guesting at the CBS Mornings in Manhattan, New York on Tuesday night.
Ms. Eala, world No. 18, exited in the third round of the US major after a 5-7, 6-3, 5-7 loss to another good pal Iva Jovic of the United States, who later on also bowed to her fellow American Ms. Gauff.
Ms. Gauff, world No. 4, ran away with a 6-1, 6-4 win over No. 14 Ms. Jovic to arrange a last 8 duel against No. 5 Mirra Andreeva of Russia in a bid to come closer to winning her second US Open title after reigning in 2023.
The 21-year-old Filipina was one of the witnesses to Ms. Gauff’s masterclass on Ms. Jovic, making her root for the 22-year-old American from the sidelines while she’s still in New York.
“I think Coco’s been on such a good run recently. What I look up to Coco for is her grit and the mentality she has. Of course, she’s a beast and she’s physically amazing. Great shot and so much power but yeah, I love her mentality.”
Ms. Eala and Ms. Gauff is 1-1 in head-to-head record, having teamed up as well in the Italian Open doubles earlier this year. They also collaborated in a fun Tiktok video last month, singing to Taylor Swift’s End Game and in homage to the 90s hit film “Sugar Rush” during the break between the Canadian Open and the Cincinnati Open.
Ms. Gauff, also a former French Open champion, had previously praised Ms. Eala as well, especially for her unmatched legacy in Philippine sports and now in the global tennis landscape as a whole.
“I can’t emphasize it at all because she’s the first Filipino player to break a lot of the barriers that she’s done, especially on the female side. When you speak of athletes from the Philippines, she’s doing similar things with what Manny Pacquiao is doing for her country,” said Ms. Gauff back in the third round of the US Open.
Ms. Eala, for now, is enjoying it to the fullest in the Big Apple before going back to training to prepare for the Singapore Open and the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games (Asiad) for Team Philippines.
She’s skipping the WTA 1000 China Open, one of the 10 mandatory 1000 level stops in the WTA Tour, to prioritize playing for the flag in the Asiad for a potential point penalty and $10,000 fine albeit the Philippine Tennis Association is set to appeal it for exemption due to a national cause.
The WTA 1000 China Open is set on Sept. 30 to Oct. 11 in Beijing, running smack into Ms. Eala’s Asiad campaign set on Sept. 27 to Oct. 3 in Nagoya after her Singapore Open stint on Sept. 21 onwards.
It’s the start of the Asian swing for Ms. Eala after a commendable Grand Slam season, eyeing to improve her two bronze medals in the 2023 Asiad in Hangzhou on the heels of her reign in the Southeast Asian Games in Nonthaburi, Thailand last year after snapping the country’s women’s gold medal drought since 1999 on top of two bronze medals. — John Bryan Ulanday