Alexandra Eala of the Philippines fell flat on the court and started crying after making tennis history at US Open. The 75th-ranked player defeated 14th-seeded Clara Tauson 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (13-11) to become the first player from her country to win a Grand Slam match in the Open era.
She managed to achieve the feat in her third attempt in a Grand Slam tournament. The 20-year-old Eala had earlier made history by reaching the main draws of both the French Open and Wimbledon. However, she was knocked out in the opening rounds of both tournaments.
Eala Knocks Out Tauson
Alex Eala showcased her growing tactical maturity on the big stage, using sharp angles, early aggression, and shortened rallies to effectively neutralize the power-based game of Clara Tauson.
Backed by a lively Filipino crowd among the more than 8,000 fans in attendance, the world No. 71 made her intentions clear early, threatening four break points in the third game of the match.
Tauson responded with three aces to hold serve, but couldn’t maintain momentum. Eala broke in the fifth game to go up 3-2, then closed out the opening set with another break in the ninth game to take it 6-3.
The Danish star, known for her consistency this season, bounced back strongly. Tauson broke serve in the first game of the second set, quieting the pro-Eala crowd. Although Eala quickly broke back to level at 1-1, Tauson tightened her game and surged to a 5-2 lead before sealing the set 6-3 to even the match.
What followed was a thrilling finale. Eala raced to an 8-4 lead in the breaker, but Tauson clawed back to 8-all, saving three match points in the process. Undeterred, Eala broke for an 12-11 lead and finally closed out the match on her fifth match point—securing a dramatic victory in two hours and 38 minutes over the seeded Dane.
With the win, Eala advances to the second round, where she’ll have two days of rest before facing either world No. 95 Cristina Bucsa of Spain or former world No. 52 and current No. 371 Claire Liu of the United States.
