Alex Eala made a statement in the Round 1 of the US Open girls singles tournament at Flushing Meadows in New York early Monday (Manila time).

The 10th seeded Eala took down Xu in one hour and 16 minutes to advance to the Round 2.

Eala's next opponent is Nina Vargova of Slovakia in the second round.

This is the Rafael Nadal Academy scholar's first junior Grand Slam tournament in a year after focusing on competing in professional tournaments.

Eala made it as far as the quarterfinal in last year's US Open before conceding to Sebastiana Scilipoti of Switzerland, 5-7, 3-6.