Alex Eala Advances to US Open Third Round

Alexandra Eala did not just avenge a loss. She announced herself to New York.

The 21-year-old from the Philippines swept past Ukrainian Oleksandra Oliynykova, 6-1, 6-4, on Friday to reach the third round of the US Open, feeding the growing roar from her Filipino supporters scattered around Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Earlier this year in Strasbourg, Oliynykova had her number. Not this time. Eala needed little more than an hour to flip that script and book a third-round showdown with No. 14 seed Iva Jovic of the United States.

“My patience and the consistency of my focus [were] the key to winning the match today,” Eala said, and it showed from the first ball.

Fresh off her maiden career title in Washington last month, Eala came out brimming with authority. She tore through the opening four games, dictating from the baseline and striking 11 winners in the first set. Oliynykova could not produce a single one. The scoreboard, 6-1, told only part of the story; the gulf in confidence and clarity was even wider.

The match finally found some friction in the second set. The two traded breaks, the rallies stretched longer, and Oliynykova began to land more first serves. Eala did not blink. Locked in from the back of the court, she broke again in the seventh game, carving out the crucial lead with heavy, deep groundstrokes that pinned her opponent behind the baseline.

From there, she surged. The pressure told, and Eala closed the door with an unreturnable serve, sealing a straight-sets win that felt controlled rather than dramatic.

Eala has already written one line of history as the first player from the Philippines to win a WTA Tour-level match. On Friday in New York, she played with the assurance of someone intent on adding several more.

Up in the stands, her compatriots waved flags and held up signs in Tagalog urging her to “fight on.” She did. Now she gets another stage, another seed, and a bigger test in Jovic — with the buzz around her only getting louder.