The third time proved the charm for Alex Eala, and she did it in spectacular fashion.
The Filipina tennis standout achieved a historic breakthrough in a Grand Slam, staging a remarkable comeback to defeat 14th seed Clara Tauson of Denmark, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (11), on Monday morning (Manila time) in the opening round of the US Open.
Earlier this year, the 20-year-old Eala made history as the first Filipino in the tennis Open Era to reach the main draws of both the French Open and Wimbledon. However, she fell in the opening rounds of both tournaments.
In New York, she ensured there would be no repeat.
Facing one of the tour’s biggest hitters, Eala quickened the pace and forced the 6-foot Tauson to move constantly.
This strategy worked perfectly in the first set, allowing Eala to exploit angles, go for winners, and shorten rallies — effectively neutralizing Tauson’s powerful groundstrokes.
Bolstered by the support of a loud Filipino contingent among the more than 8,000 fans in attendance, the world No. 71 Eala sent a strong statement early, threatening four service breaks in the third game.
Tauson held serve with three aces, but could not stop Eala afterwards. The Filipina broke in the fifth game to take a 3-2 lead and closed out the first set with another break in the ninth game, 6-3.
Tauson, however, responded with the consistency that has made her a top performer this season.
She broke serve in the opening game of the second set, briefly silencing the pro-Eala crowd.
While Eala quickly leveled at 1-1, Tauson asserted herself and surged to a 5-2 lead, eventually holding serve in the eighth game to even the match at one set apiece.
In the decider, Tauson seemed to have Eala figured out, using varied shotmaking to build a commanding 5-1 advantage.
Yet Eala, embodying the indomitable Filipino spirit, fought back point by point.
“It was so, so difficult,” Eala told the US Open website.
“Clara is a huge player, she’s a great player. Definitely not an easy draw for a first round, but I’m so happy that I was able to dig deep. I was just thinking to push the limit physically, mentally… This was it.”
She held serve three times and broke Tauson twice to take a 6-5 lead.
Tauson held in the 12th game, forcing a tiebreak.
The tiebreak proved a classic. Eala surged to an 8-4 lead, but Tauson rallied to tie it at 8-8.
The young Filipino had three match points thwarted by her opponent, yet she refused to yield.
Finally, Eala broke Tauson to go up 12-11 and held serve on her fifth match point, completing a hard-fought two-hour-and-thirty-eight-minute victory over her seeded foe.
Eala will now have two days to rest and recover before the second round, where she will face the winner of the first-round clash between world No. 95 Cristina Bucsa of Spain and former world No. 52, current No. 371 Claire Liu of the United States.
