ManilaTimes-Sept 12

ALEXANDRA “Alex” Eala has etched her name in Philippine sports history as the first Filipino tennis player to win a juniors singles Grand Slam event. The 17-year-old captured the US Open Girls singles title with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Czech Lucie Havlickova in Flushing Meadows, New York City early Sunday (Philippine time).

Eala reached the final round without dropping a set through six matches. She now owns three junior Grand Slam titles, taking the girls doubles championships in the 2020 Australian Open and the 2021 French Open. Eala started her US Open quest by taking down Canadian Annabelle Xu in the first round; Slovak Nina Vargova in the second; Australian Taylah Preston in the third; Russian Mirra Andreeva in the quarterfinals; and Canadian Victoria Mboko in the semifinal, before outplaying Havlickova in the final. Eala adds the US Open girls title to her juniors singles championships to her pro circuit wins in the Phinma-PSC International Juniors 1 in 2018, I Trofeo David Ferrer (2018), JA Cape Town (2019) and JA Milan (2021). Malacañang on Sunday hailed Eala for her historic win. “Our warm congratulations to Alex Eala, the first Filipino to bag a title at the Junior Grand Slam Singles of the 2022 US Open Tennis Championships!,” Press Secretary Rose Beatrix“Trixie” Cruz-Angeles posted in the vernacular on Twitter. Read more at: https://www.manilatimes.net/2022/09/12/news/national/eala-wins-us-open-singles-grand-slam/1858060