Amazing Alex Eala stuns world No. 15 to claim historic win in US Open

MANILA, Philippines, August 26 ------ Alex Eala showed steely nerves to claim a historic win in a Grand Slam main draw. Eala snatched victory from the jaws of defeat as she stunned world No. 15 Clara Tauson of Denmark in the opening round of the US Open in New York, pulling off a gripping 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (11) triumph at the Grandstand.

On the brink of another first-round exit after being buried in a 1-5 hole in the deciding set, Eala clinched five straight games to get herself back into the mix, then won the nail-biting tiebreak to become the first Filipino to win a Grand Slam main draw match in the Open era.

The Open era refers to the time starting in 1968 when Grand Slam tournaments finally allowed professional players to compete with amateurs. “Oh my god. It was so, so difficult. She’s a huge player, she’s a great player, and not an easy draw for a first round,” Eala said of the big-serving Tauson. “But I’m so happy that I was able to dig deep.”

With the Filipino crowd behind her and the momentum on her side, Eala fired three straight winners to grab a commanding 8-4 lead in the tiebreak, although she still faced resistance from the Dane, who pulled level at 8-8, then at 9-9, 10-10, and 11-11. But the 20-year-old Filipina kept her composure as she scored a backhand winner to regain the upper hand at 12-11 then forced a Tauson error in the next point to seal the marathon wins in 2 hours and 36 minutes. When she saw Tauson return her serve long, Eala immediately fell on her back in relief then jumped for joy as she reveled in the fans’ loud cheers. “I was just thinking to push the limit, like physically, mentally, this was it,” said Eala.

Eala got the monkey off her back at last as she reached the second round of a Grand Slam for the first time after getting eliminated in the first round of the French Open in May and the Wimbledon Championships in July. The win also saw the 5-foot-9 Eala prove she can deliver when the going gets tough two months after she squandered four match points against Australia’s Maya Joint in the final of the Eastbourne Open in June — a loss that denied her of a maiden WTA title. It was a disappointing result for Tauson, who was bidding to reach the second round of the US Open for the third consecutive year.

The six-foot Dane recorded 12 aces, but she shot herself in the foot with ill-timed errors as she tallied all her six double faults in the third set. Up next for Eala is the winner between Spain’s Cristina Bucsa and the USA’s Claire Liu.

Source: rappler.com