ALEX Eala caught the attention of tennis great Novak Djokovic after the Filipino tennis sensation’s presence at the Australian Open drew a huge crowd at the venue.
Djokovic, who has won 10 Australian Open titles, reflected on the tournament’s evolution and took a moment to acknowledge the rising tennis star.
“I saw the other day with Alex Eala... You know that [she] has been a talk, which has been understandable. Some players came from [their] respective countries. She’s like, she’s coming from the Philippines, which is now a big deal,” Djokovic said at the media conference following his second round win against Francesco Maestrelli.
Djokovic, who first played in the Australian Open in 2005, understands that there are challenges in management and venues when it comes to handling a jam-packed crowd — but overall, it’s a good sign for the tennis community.
“She has been the biggest tennis player from that country, which is a big country and [has a] big interest,” Djokovoc said.
“So things like that happen, and you can argue that maybe a poor schedule, or they can schedule it in bigger courts, yes but she’s so young. And she’s just coming through, and in the first couple rounds, the schedule is packed, and the big courts with big names.”
On the first day of the tournament when Eala saw action, organizers of the Australian Open faced ticketing woes.
The Filipino fans also created a logjam outside court six at Melbourne Park.
“It’s difficult to manage that, but again it’s a good problem to have to be honest,” Djokovic said.
“Having too much crowd in any tournaments is a good problem to have, there are many problems to have. Every tournament wants record-breaking attendance and ticket sales, I have been hearing in the past couple of years in most of the slams and tournaments.”
Eala’s popularity began to rise after she defeated six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek at the Miami Open last year.
Eala, a product of Rafael Nadal’s academy in Mallorca, became the first Filipina to win a WTA Tour match in 2021. She followed that up with a junior Grand Slam title at the US Open in 2022.
“It’s a good sign, we want more attention. We want more people coming, and we want more people watching tennis live and following it and livestreaming,” added Djokovic.