A hero rises

Alex Eala crawled her way out of the jaws of defeat to pull off a historic victory following a heart-stopping 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (13-11) triumph over Clara Tauson of Denmark in the opening round of the US Open women’s singles event early Monday (Manila time).

After finding herself buried under a 1-5 deficit in the deciding set, Eala dug deep into her bag of tricks to win five straight games before watching the big-serving Dane commit a return error that signaled her victory in front of a huge crowd at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York.

Upon seeing the ball land past the baseline, Eala fell on her back in relief before screaming, jumping and hugging her coach Joan Bosch of Spain and other members of the Rafael Nadal Academy, who were teary-eyed watching their favorite student formally become the first Filipino to win a Grand Slam game in the Open era.

The Open era started in 1968 when both professional and amateur players were finally allowed to compete in Grand Slam events like the US Open, Australian Open, Wimbledon Championship and French Open.

The legendary Felicisimo Ampon was the last Filipino to win a Grand Slam game prior to the Open era. He made it to the quarterfinals of the French Open in 1952 and 1953, third round of the Wimbledon in 1949, 1950, and 1953, and fourth round of the US Open in 1948, 1949, 1950 and 1952.

Eala also won in a Grand Slam event in the past when she lifted the trophy of the US Open girls singles tournament in 2022, but her triumph over the world No. 14 from Copenhagen was truly special as it formally installed her as the new queen of Philippine tennis.

Eala herself couldn’t believe that she was able to achieve the feat that seemed unimaginable the day before since she missed a couple of warmup events due to a shoulder injury.

“I’m so blessed to be the first to do this. I take so much pride in representing my country,” said Eala following the grueling battle that lasted for two hours and 36 minutes -- the second longest duel in the opening day behind the collision between Moyuka Uchijima of Japan and Olga Danilovic of Serbia that lasted for three hours and nine minutes.

It was her fourth win against a top 20 opponent this year after beating former Grand Slam champions Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, Madison Keys of the United States and world No. 2 Iga Swiatek of Poland in the Miami Open that sparked her rise to No. 75 in the world.

And it came on the same day the country was celebrating its National Heroes Day.

“It makes what I do bigger than myself.”

She said the overwhelming support of the Filipino community in New York propelled her to victory. After all, the venue in Flushing Meadows is very close to Queens, which is also known as “Little Manila” for having a large Filipino community that cheered its heart out from the stands while Eala was battling one of professional tennis’ most notorious giant killers in Tauson.

“To be Filipino is something I take so much pride in,” said Eala, who tossed her visor into the roaring crowd to show her appreciation to their all-out support.

“I don’t have a home tournament, so to be able to have this community here at the US Open, I’m so grateful they made me feel like I’m home.”

The pivotal moment came in the deciding set when Tauson was clinging on to dear life with a razor-thin 5-4 lead against the rallying Eala.

The Filipina hit a shot right up near the net, and it wasn’t immediately clear during play whether or not her racket had crossed over the tape to make contact with the ball, which isn’t allowed.

After making a video review, chair umpire Kader Nouni decided that Eala hit the ball fairly and awarded her the point, giving her two break chances at 15-40.

There was a lengthy delay before action resumed, though, with Tauson complaining and telling Nouni: “Look at the ball. What is your opinion about this? What is your opinion?”

The flag-waving Filipino crowd jeered the furious Tauson while pushing Eala to make one last run en route to completing arguably the most important victory in the modern era of Philippine tennis.

“The whole stadium was with her, so I’m sure the umpire felt pressure,” Tauson said.

That’s why when Tauson’s forehand return sailed long, Eala dropped to her back on the acrylic hardcourts of the Grandstand Court, chest heaving and covered her face with both hands.

After a few seconds, Eala stood up and met Tauson at the net for a handshake, she skipped around the court basking in the roaring approval of the pro-Filipino spectators.

“I was just so over the moon,” Eala said, trying her best to hold back the tears.

“It was just such a rush of emotions.”