Alex Eala fans turned Louis Armstrong Stadium into a Filipino party on Thursday as the 17th seed secured her place in the third round of the US Open.
Eala produced a composed performance in overcoming Ukraine’s Oleksandra Oliynykova 6-1, 6-4.
The crowd was overwhelmingly pro Eala, with fans holding signs, chanting and waving little flags to cheer on the Philippines’ and the game’s newest sensation Eala.
“I’m proud to represent Filipinos,” Eala told her fans in the on-court interview.
The 17th seed made a blistering start, winning the first nine games to establish control and avenge her defeat by Oliynykova at the Internationaux de Strasbourg in May.
Eala raced into a 4-0 lead in the opening set before Oliynykova finally got on the scoreboard by breaking serve. The Filipina responded immediately, breaking back before holding to love to take the set convincingly.
The second set proved considerably more testing as Oliynykova used looping shots and slices to disrupt Eala’s rhythm.
The Ukrainian moved 2-1 ahead with a well-struck forehand winner, but Eala responded with a love hold before breaking in the fifth game.
Oliynykova immediately hit back to level at 3-3, but Eala secured another break to regain control. She then held to love for a 5-3 advantage and moved to within a game of victory.
Oliynykova delayed the inevitable by holding serve, but Eala remained composed when serving for the match.
An errant forehand presented Eala with two match points before another poor forehand return from Oliynykova ended the contest after one hour and four minutes.
“I think my patience and the consistency of my focus. I think that was the key to winning the match today,” Eala said afterwards.
The victory marked a significant improvement from their meeting in Strasbourg when Eala squandered a one-set lead before losing.
She will now face American Iva Jovic, who dispatched British qualifier Francesca Jones 6-4, 6-4.
Gauff pushes through against Badosa
World No 4 Coco Gauff overcame Paula Badosa 6-4, 7-6 in the second round of the US Open to extend her bid for a second title at Flushing Meadows.
On a sweltering evening that contrasted with the rain-hit opening days, Gauff took to Arthur Ashe Court with the backing of a partisan crowd and hopes of continuing her pursuit of a third Grand Slam title.
But it was no simple task against the world No 87, who, despite the gulf in the rankings, holds a positive record over the American, including victories in their last two meetings – a straight-sets win at last year's Australian Open first round and more recently, during this summer's grass-court swing in Berlin.
The pair traded blows from the opening exchanges, both players deploying their best weapons from the baseline in search of an early advantage.
Badosa threatened early to seize the initiative, forcing Gauff to save two break points. But the American struck with the decisive break, aided by a costly forehand error from the Spaniard that appeared to rattle her both mentally and in her execution, as Gauff closed out the opener to take the lead.
The second set proved just as much of a spectacle, with both players swapping breaks twice apiece before a tiebreak was needed, Badosa raising her level as she searched for a way back into the match.
The tiebreak followed the same script until Badosa sent a long ball, prompting a euphoric celebration from Gauff as she sealed her place in the next round.
"Paula is a tough player. I feel like I had the lead but there wasn't too much I did wrong. She stepped it up. I'm really happy to be through today," the 22-year-old said on court.
"I saw the draw. Definitely not someone you want to play in the second round. Former number two in the world. Great competitor. I think I need matches like this to build my confidence. I’m happy with how I managed today. There was a bit of nerves."
Fan favourite Gauff will next face another Spaniard, Cristina Bucsa.
Osaka regains composure to advance
Two-time champion Naomi Osaka overcame a flurry of mistakes to fight past Czech Katerina Siniakova 6-2, 5-7, 6-1, finding her mettle to reach the third round of the US Open.
The 13th seed has spent years taming her own tendency toward self-recrimination, and showed the best evidence of her new career outlook as she reclaimed her composure with a bathroom break before the third set at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
"I think I was a little bit too hard on myself, so I took the bathroom break, tried to regroup and have no regrets," said Osaka, who will next play Belgian Elise Mertens.
The winner in 2018 and 2020 was pristine through the first set, with just four unforced errors, as she broke her opponent to love in the fourth game. The Czech did herself no favours with three double faults in the eighth game before letting Osaka break again on set point with an unforced error.
It was a different story in the second set, where Osaka's form dropped just as Siniakova hit her stride, and the Japanese 13th seed put up 20 unforced errors that gave the Czech too many chances.
After trading breaks twice in the second set, Osaka tapped her racquet on the court in frustration after whacking a backhand into the net and handed Siniakova the break with another backhand error in the penultimate game.
Osaka went to the locker room before the third set, a decision that helped her move on.
"Obviously the match was really difficult. I think on my end it was more, like, mentally I wanted to play perfectly. Obviously that's not going to happen every day," said Osaka.
"In the third set, I just tried to do what I could do, and thankfully I was able to win."
She emerged back on the court with new resolve, sprinting through the first three games and saving two break points in the fifth before closing it out with an unreturnable serve.
Osaka has provided some of Flushing Meadows' most memorable moments - from her breakthrough 2018 win to her public advocacy for racial justice en route to the title in 2020 – and said she was able to pull from her "memory bank" of compelling wins to help her power through.
"When it gets to the third set, I try to think of all of the matches I was able to pull through," said Osaka, who reached the semi-finals a year ago.
"I was trying to tell myself in the third set, like, keep going and keep trying to take the opportunities."
