Alex Eala advances to final of US Open qualifier
THIRD time’s the charm?
Filipina tennis sensation Alex Eala will have a chance to claim a historic main draw ticket for the third straight Grand Slam tourney after barging into the final round of the US Open women’s singles qualifying draw Wednesday in New York.
Ms. Eala, 19, defied the odds by shocking No. 15 seed and Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) No. 99 Nuria Parrizas Diaz of Spain with a 7-5, 7-5 masterclass in the second round of the tough qualifiers.
The WTA No. 148 Ms. Eala drew confidence from a steely resolve in Round 1, shrugging her US Open pro jitters by besting Maddison Inglis, WTA No. 180, of Australia with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 win.
Up against an even grizzled foe in the 33-year-old Ms. Diaz, who had back-to-back crowns in the International Tennis Federation W100 events before trooping to New York, Ms. Eala embraced the challenge and showcased her capability at a young age once more.
In both sets, Ms. Eala went toe-to-toe against Ms. Diaz with no inch of separation and she rose to the top to pocket the win in one hour and 48 minutes.
A pair of 2-0 enders propelled Ms. Eala ahead from similar 5-5 deadlocks in both sets to slam the door on any rubber match bid of Ms. Diaz.
Before the US Open, Ms. Eala also came close to becoming the first Filipina player in any major tourney main draw only to lose in the finals of the French Open and Wimbledon qualifiers this year.
She absorbed a 6-4, 6(3)-7, 4-6 loss against Argentina’s Julia Riera in the Roland Garros final and then took a 6(3)-7, 5-7 defeat against New Zealand’s Lulu Sun in the Wimbledon finale.
Now, she’s out to finally go over the hump and standing in the way for that elusive feat is Romania’s Elena-Gabriela Ruse, a Grand Slam veteran with a career-high WTA ranking at No. 51.
Ms. Ruse, 26 and current WTA No. 123, drubbed Croatia’s Antonia Ruzic, 6-2, 6-2, and China’s Ma Ye-Xin, 6-3, 6-3, in the first two rounds. — John Bryan Ulanday
