In a rematch between Alexandra and Oleksandra, the one with the “A” finally exacted some payback.
17th seed Alex Eala continued her impressive run in the US Open, dismantling Ukraine’s Oleksandra Oliynykova in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4, on Friday morning (Manila time) at the 14,000-seat Louis Armstrong Stadium in Flushing Meadows, New York.
The two faced off last May in the opening round of the 2026 Internationaux de Strasbourg in France, where the 25-year-old Oliynykova fought back from a set down to knock out Eala, 6-3, 5-7, 3-6.
There would be no coming back from the dead for Oliynykova this time around.
In their previous encounter, Oliynykova’s looping shots and slow-paced returns worked perfectly on clay, disrupting Eala’s rhythm. But the faster hard court at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center proved far less favorable to the Ukrainian’s style of play.
Eala pounded Oliynykova with powerful groundstrokes placed all over the court, keeping the Ukrainian constantly on the defensive.
The 21-year-old pride of the Rafa Nadal Academy got off to a perfect start in the opening set, winning the first eight points to race to a 2-0 lead. She extended her advantage to 4-0 before Oliynykova showed some resistance, breaking Eala in the fifth game to finally get on the scoreboard.
That was as good as it would get for the Ukrainian.
Eala immediately answered by breaking Oliynykova, then held serve to clinch the first set, 6-1, in just 23 minutes.
The world No. 46 Oliynykova attempted to extend the match by putting up a stiffer challenge in the second set. The first four games went with serve before Eala broke in the fifth. Oliynykova quickly responded by breaking Eala to keep pace at 3-3.
But Eala was simply too good and too composed to lose her grip on the match.
The Filipina tennis ace broke Oliynykova for the fifth time in the match in the seventh game, then pocketed three of the last four games to eliminate the Ukrainian after just one hour and four minutes.
Eala has now surpassed her previous showing at the US Open, where she exited in the second round in 2025.
She will have an opportunity to match her best Grand Slam result — a fourth-round appearance at Wimbledon 2026 — if she wins again in the third round on Saturday against a possible familiar foe in 14th seed Iva Jovic of the United States.
Eala and Jovic have faced each other twice, with the 18-year-old American winning both encounters in straight sets.
