Filipina star faces tough road to U.S. Open glory

Alex Eala’s masterful win over Clara Tauson is just the start of her long, grueling journey to US Open glory.

After the big-serving Dane, Eala will be facing the winner between Cristina Bucsa of Spain and qualifier Claire Liu of the United States in the second round of the women’s singles event of this prestigious Grand Slam tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York.

Bucsa and Liu, who will clash on Tuesday (Manila time), rank way lower than the world No. 75 Eala but it doesn’t mean that they would be easy foes.

The 27-year-old Bucsa has been a consistent performer in Grand Slam events, reaching as far as the third round of the Australian Open in 2023 and the Wimbledon Championship this year. She also campaigned for Spain in the Paris Olympics, where she suffered a 6-7 (7-4), 3-6 loss to Filipino-Canadian Leylah Fernandez in the second round.

The daughter of Olympian Ion Bucsa enjoyed her highest ranking of No. 56 in January last year before sliding to No. 95 after suffering a string of setbacks in singles events.

Like Bucsa, Liu also used to be in the top 75 of the world ranking at No. 52 in 2023 after posting second-round finishes in the Australian Open and French Open.

But the 25-year-old daughter of Chinese immigrants took a seven-month layoff due to mental health problems following a second-round exit in the Miami Open last year that prompted her ranking to tumble all the way down to No. 389.

Now, she’s making a comeback and a shocking victory over fan-favorite Eala will definitely propel her back to prominence.

But Eala said she will stay laser-focused to sustain the momentum brought by her victory that is now being considered as the most important wins since Carlos Yulo won two gold medals in the Paris Olympics last year.

“The key for my upcoming match is just to come in with the same mentality, same fight,” she said after posting a 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (13-11) triumph over Tauson — the world No. 14.

“Right now, I’m just focused on recovering.”

A member of her coaching team, Lluc Bauza, agrees, saying that she will have two days of rest but will have light training in preparation for the second round.

“Tomorrow, yes, she will practice,” said Bauza, the Rafael Nadal Academy mainstay who serves as Eala’s fitness coach.

“She is used to matches like this. Alex is prepared, and she has a good fitness team behind her.”