By ADRIAN STEWART CO
MANILA – Alexandra “Alex” Eala made history as the first-ever Filipina to capture a junior grand slam singles title in the 2022 United States Open Women’s singles event.
The Filipina tennis prodigy clinched the title after defeating Lucie Havlickova of the Czech Republic, 6-2, 6-4, on Saturday night (Sunday in the Philippines) at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York City.
The No. 10 ranked Eala and No. 2 seed Havlickova were engaged in a tight exchange early in the opening set. They were knotted at 2-2 after the fourth game.
Eala then turned things around. She broke Havlickova in the fifth game and in the seventh game before closing out the first set on her serve in the eighth game.
Eala opened the second set by breaking Havlickova’s serve anew but the Czech took advantage of Filipina’s two double faults to take a 2-1 lead.
Eala, however, managed to keep in step and keep the score tied at 4-4 before she made her move in the 9th game as she broke Havlickova’s serve to regain the lead.
Eala, a product of the Rafael Nadal Academy, practically knocked the fight out of the Czech in the next two matches with pristine serves to capture her first-ever singles grand slam tiara.
Overall, Eala had a fewer unforced errors at 21 as compared to Havlickova’s 32. The Filipina netter also had better service percentages compared to her Czech rival.
“Sana makatulong din ako sa kinabukasan ng Philippine tennis. Hindi lang to panalo ko. Panalo natin tong lahat,” Eala said after receiving her trophy.
Eala started her US Open campaign with victories over Canadian Annabelle Xu in the first round, 6-3, 6-0, and Slovakian Nina Vargova in the second round, 6-2, 6-3, before ousting Canada’s Victoria Mboko, 6-1, 7-6, in the semifinals./PN
