FILIPINO tennis ace Alexandra “Alex” Eala finally begins her much-anticipated US Open singles campaign against American Mary Stoiana at the Louis Armstrong Stadium in Flushing Meadows, New York Tuesday night (Wednesday morning in Manila).
The first-round (round of 128) match between world No. 18 Eala and world No. 122 Stoiana gets going around 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. in Manila.
Tournament No. 17 seed Eala and qualifier Stoiana begin their WTA match after the ATP encounter between Adolfo Vallejo and Gael Monfils which starts at 7 a.m. in Manila.
Eala defeated Stoiana in their first encounter at the 2024 ITF 1000 Koser Jewelers Tennis Challenge round of 16, 7-5, 6-2, in Pennsylvania.
At that time, Eala was ranked No. 147 while Stoiana was a wildcard primarily competing in the US NCAA.
A Rafa Nadal Academy standout, Eala has grown leaps and bounds since that meeting, now sporting a WTA 500 Washington title and a career-high No. 18 ranking.
Eala last played an official singles match at the Cincinnati Open where she fell to Amanda Anisimova in the third round, 6-4, 4-6, 2-6.
The 21-year-old Eala, however, teamed up with Felix Auger-Aliassime in the US Open mixed doubles where they exited in the first round. She also played a “Stars of the Open” exhibition match against world No. 14 Iva Jovic which she lost, 3-6.
As she makes her US Open return, Eala, who reached the second round last year, talked about the belief she has in herself in a bid to be the best she can be.
“I think I have a pretty strong baseline of belief in myself and of course, it’s very normal that it fluctuates,” Eala said in her pre-tournament presser.
“There are moments where it’s more difficult to believe in yourself and there are moments where it’s much easier but I think my baseline remained quite steady and maybe on an incline but a very slow incline. I think that’s what’s important is to have that foundation of I know what I can do. I’m strong. Who I am as a person, what my character is.”
On the other hand, the 23-year-old Stoiana also carries a career-high rank of No. 122 following a decorated collegiate career where she was hailed as the SEC Player of the Year twice.
Stoiana gutted her way to the US Open main draw, topping French Harmony Tan in the first qualifying round, 6-4, 6-3, and British Katie Swan in the second, 6(5)-7, 6-3, 6-3, before dispatching Chinese Yue Yuan in the third and final round of the qualifiers, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, last Saturday.
The winner between Eala and Stoiana will face the winner between Ukrainian Oleksandra Oliynykova or American Reese Brantmeier.
Oliynykova is ranked No. 46 while the wildcard Brantmeier is No. 425.
