ALEXANDRA “Alex” Eala elevated to a career-high No. 16 rank with 2,216 points in the WTA live rankings after her first-round win at the US Open in New York Wednesday morning in Manila.
Officially ranked No. 18 in the world, tournament No. 17 seed Eala topped No. 122 and qualifier Stoiana, 6-1, 6-2, in their round of 128 encounter at the Louis Armstrong Stadium.
Eala thus guaranteed herself at matching her last year’s second-round US Open debut finish.
The lefty netter became the first Filipino to win a singles main draw match in a major last year after stunning then world No. 14 Clara Tauson, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(13-11), in the first round.
Ranked No. 75 last year, Eala fell to Cristina Bucsa in the second round, 4-6, 3-6.
Now, Eala faces world No. 46 Ukrainian Oleksandra Oliynykova in the second round (round of 64) likely on Thursday.
Another win by Eala would raise her total ranking points to 2,276 albeit she won’t move up in the live rankings since No. 15 Sorana Cirstea has 2,294 as her base.
If the Romanian defeats French Dianne Parry Wednesday night, she will even raise her total to 2,354 points.
Eala enjoyed another de facto home crowd from the Filipino diaspora in her opening match.
“The support I’ve been getting the past couple of days here in New York and honestly, and to be frank, everywhere around the world, maraming salamat mga kababayan (thank you so much fellow Filipinos),” said Eala in the court interview.
“The community here in New York, the tennis fans who have, not just from the Philippines, but who have been making me feel so loved and were so enthusiastic, and contributing to the growth of women’s tennis. So, thank you everybody for being part of my journey and making it such a pleasure to do my job.”
Eala’s slow yet tricky serve made wonders for her anew, as the lefty won 67 percent (38-of-57) of her service points compared to Stoiana’s 50 percent (23-of-46).
Eala also proved effective in returns with a 50-percent success rate (23-of-46) compared to Stoiana’s 33 percent (19-of-57).
Stoiana’s 26 unforced errors also aided Eala, who had 11 fewer at just 15.
