FILIPINA tennis star Alex Eala completed her phenomenal run in the 142nd US Open junior girls’ singles tournament early yesterday morning (Saturday in the US) with a masterful 6-2, 6-4 conquest of Czech Lucie Havlickova in the title match.
Eala was in complete command throughout in dispatching the No. 2 seed Havlickova in 68 minutes on Court 11 at the USTA Billie Jean Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York.
A scholar at the Rafael Nadal Tennis Academy in Mallorca, Spain, the pretty southpaw became the first Filipino netter to clinch a grand slam junior singles championship.
Eala, 17, surpassed her previous accomplishments in international juniors play when she won back-to-back juniors doubles trophies with separate partners in the 2020 Australian Open and 2021 French Open, respectively.
She reached the finals by subduing No. 9 seed Viktoria Mboko 6-1, 7-6 of Canada in the semifinals last Friday while Havlickova beat compatriot Diana Shnaider 6-4, 6-2 in the other semis.
In securing the title, Eala did not lose a single set stretching back to the first round.
Among those who congratulated Eala for her feat is her uncle, Philippine Sports Commission Chairman Noli Eala, who tweeted: “What a way to start my Chairmanship of the PSC. My own niece giving the country another reason to be proud and to celebrate. Amazing!”
Philippine Olympic President Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino also congratulated Eala, saying at 17, she would go a long way.
“Alex will go a long, long way in her tennis career, which, is just budding,” Tolentino said.
“We expect Alex to bring more honors to the country, and her accomplishment would definitely inspire young Filipinos to follow in her footsteps,” Tolentino said.
“Gusto kong magpasalamat sa pamilya ko. Kung hindi dahil sa kanila, hindi ko ito kakayanin,” Eala said as she paid tribute to her parents, Michael and Rizza Maniego-Eala, who watched from the stands.
“Maraming salamat din sa lahat ng nagdasal at nagsuporta sa akin. Buong puso ko itong pinaglaban hindi lang para sa sarili ko kundi para makatulong sa kinabukasan ng Philippine tennis,” the teary-eyed athlete added. “Hindi lang ito panalo ko pero panalo nating lahat, thank you!!!
“It’s very overwhelming right now,” Eala said at the post-match press conference. “I’m super happy to represent my country and do something with a big platform, being able to inspire other younger people.”
She credited her growing maturity for her breakthrough win, saying: “I would say I’m very happy with the way I handled each and every point. I had a lot of moments in this tournament where I was down, I could have lost, could have lost a set, and could have gotten mad easily, but I didn’t. I think my behavior throughout the whole week is something I’m very proud of.”
Eala also offered praises to her role model and mentor, Rafa Nadal, “and not just because I’m in his academy. He fights till the end. His thoughts are so clear. He’s so calm, but at the same time, so fired up. I think I really tried to channel that energy during the whole week.”
Another major factor for her successful campaign was “to be surrounded by good people and people that I look up to, to guide me the right way. All of them are pretty involved from everything, to, like what I wear, my schedule, yeah.
“I ask them for their opinion on almost everything. I rely on them a lot.”
Drawing support from the crowd, Eala surged early in the first set with a pivotal service break in the fifth game to break a 2-all tie and roll to 1-0 first-set lead.
With the scored deadlocked at 4-4 in the second set, she again showed her nerves of steel by breaking Havlickova 15-40 before serving out the set and match in the 10th to seal the win.
