Osorio rekindles love affair with Filipinos

A few months have passed and Camila Osorio still couldn’t forget the warm welcome given to her by Filipino fans during the WTA125 Philippine Women’s Open last January.

The 24-year-old Colombian took a stroll down memory lane and recalled her memorable stint in Manila, where she was showered with love and adulation by the Filipinos en route to winning her third Women’s Tennis Association singles title.

Osorio said he was happy and honored to perform in front of the Filipinos while playing with their hero — Alex Eala — during the prestigious event that was held at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.

“Well, something that I’m super, super happy and like honored that it was like to play in the Philippines in Manila against someone like Alex,” Osorio said during her pre-tournament press conference at the Copa Colsanitas Open in Bogota.

Ranked No. 54 in the world, Osorio made heads turn when she beat Eala in the quarterfinals. Then, she crushed Solana Sierra of Argentina in the semifinals before pulling off an earthshaking three-set upset of veteran Donna Vekic of Croatia to conquer the crown.

Osorio stressed that being at the opposite end of the court with the 20-year-old Eala was truly an honor.

“First, she’s amazing, an amazing person, an amazing player,” said Osorio, who will kick off her Copa Colsanitas campaign on Tuesday against American Carolina Dolehide.

“So it was a great, great experience for me to play in front of her people, and everything. I enjoyed it so much because they were so respectful, too.”

“So it was like, really, really interesting for me at least, because, for example, when I’m in Colombia, here, everyone is cheering for me.”

She added that like the Colombians, the Filipinos are also very passionate, boosting her morale and pushing her to do her best in every single game.

“There, I felt all the opposite — you know, like, I felt that people were like all the way for her, and like, shooting a little bit for me, but yeah, no, like, I feel it was completely different. And, but, just like, amazing, too,” the young netter added.

“I don’t know, it’s just like they’re similar to us, to the Colombians, because they’re very passionate.”

“So when they’re going for someone, they’re really going for that person. So yeah, that’s really similar to us.”

But given the chance, Osorio said she will return to Manila in a heartbeat.

Obviously, the Filipinos have swept the Colombian off her feet.