Alex Eala Shines in US Open Third Round Victory

Alexandra Eala is starting to make Louis Armstrong Stadium feel like home.

Backed by a noisy pocket of Filipino fans and Tagalog banners urging her to “fight on,” the 21-year-old left-hander stormed into the US Open third round on Friday, dismantling Ukrainian Oleksandra Oliynykova 6-1, 6-4 in just over an hour.

This was payback with interest. Oliynykova had beaten Eala in Strasbourg earlier this year, but the rematch followed a very different script. This time, Eala dictated from the first ball and never really let go.

She flew out of the blocks, tearing through the opening four games and suffocating Oliynykova with depth and pace. The first set was a rout: 6-1, with Eala cracking 11 winners while her opponent failed to register a single one. Every short ball was punished, every loose service game exposed.

Her tennis had bite, but her mind did the heavy lifting.

“My patience and the consistency of my focus were the key to winning the match today,” Eala said afterward, a neat summary of a performance that combined composure with controlled aggression.

The second set told a different story, at least early on. Oliynykova finally found some rhythm, and the two traded breaks as the match tightened. Rallies lengthened. Eala had to absorb more pressure, had to think her way through more service games.

The tension did not last.

Locked in a battle from the baseline in the seventh game, Eala cracked the contest open again. She broke serve with heavy, relentless hitting, then stepped on the gas. From there, she played like a frontrunner who had no intention of letting the door reopen.

The final act was emphatic. Serving for the match, Eala sealed it with an unreturnable serve, a clean finish to a controlled performance.

This surge in New York comes on the heels of her first career title in Washington last month, a milestone that has clearly sharpened her edge and belief. The confidence showed in every swing, in every reset between points.

Eala has already written one line of history as the first player from the Philippines to win a WTA Tour-level match. On Friday, the significance of that achievement echoed around Louis Armstrong Stadium. Her compatriots rose with every big point, their support turning a corner of the arena into a slice of Manila.

Now the stage gets bigger again.

Next up is No 14 seed Iva Jovic of the USA in the third round, a step up in ranking and profile, but another chance for Eala to push her run deeper into the second week—and to keep that Filipino buzz rolling through New York.