‘Over the moon’: Filipino Eala bags historic first at US Open
NEW YORK: Alexandra Eala produced a jaw-dropping late comeback to carve out a piece of tennis history at the US Open on Sunday, becoming the first player from the Philippines to win a Grand Slam singles match with a first round upset of Danish 14th seed Clara Tauson. The 20-year-old from Quezon City recovered from a 5-1 deficit in the deciding set to score a thrilling 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (13/11) triumph. “I’m super over the moon with what I was able to do today, especially coming back in the third,” Eala said. “It’s a very special win for me.” Eala’s breakthrough comes at the end of a season where she had already served notice of her talent. She took down Australian Open champion Madison Keys and former world number one Iga Swiatek during a giant-killing run to the semifinals of the Miami Open in March. But Sunday’s triumph on the Grandstand court at Flushing Meadows catapulted the youngster — who won the US Open girls title in 2022 — into the history books. “I’m so blessed to be the first to do this,” Eala said. “I take so much pride in representing my country. It makes what I do bigger than myself, and it adds meaning to what I do.” Eala collapsed to the court after her victory, later revealing that past experiences had helped her dig deep to clinch the tiebreak.