By NIKOLE JAVIER
Alex Eala moved one win away from the US Open main draw after completing a huge upset over 99th ranked Nuria Parrizas-Diaz of Spain, 7-5, 7-5, to reach the third round of the qualifiers on early Thursday, Aug. 22 (Manila time) in New York.
The 19-year-old Eala is marching onto her third consecutive third round appearance of a pro Grand Slam qualifying event after similar exploits in the Roland Garros and Wimbledon Championships a few months ago.
“Minsan-minsan lang ako naglalaro sa ganitong klaseng atmosphere. Napakaswerte ko na naranasan ang suporta ng mga Pinoy dito sa New York. Maraming salamat mga kabayan. Tuloy ang laban,” she wrote on social media.
Awaiting the Filipina tennis star in the third round is another higher ranked opponent in Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania as they are pitted for a spot in the main draw of the hardcourt tournament on Friday.
Eala opened her qualifying campaign with a victory over Australian Maddison Inglis a day prior before turning back Diaz in straight sets in a display of fine form –– drawing momentum from her back-to-back quarterfinal finish in ITF tournaments in Pennsylvania and North Carolina that served as her buildup to the US Open.
Locked at 5-all in the first set, Eala broke Diaz’s serve and held her own to gain the upper hand with sustained efficiency for the crucial head start.
Eala continued to struggle to pull away completely in the second set as it remained a close affair. But the Filipina found steam after another 5-deadlock and secured the victory in similar style.
