Fan base

Filipinos stormed the gates of Australian Open to root for Alex Eala in her main draw debut. The throng by the thousand-strong stunned the organizers, they must now think the rising Filipina should have played in a bigger if not the center court to accommodate the loud and proud Filipino cheering battalion.

The Filipino presence was wildly huge and hugely wild it caught the attention of the great Martina Navratilova who blamed the organizers for want of foresight, just as tennis fans did not see Naomi Osaka coming like she graced the red carpet in the Met Gala.

The Filipino live audience brought the first round match to life, some of them may not have known tenniquette. They felt there were no rules, just celebrate every point Eala made. Some may not even know how to score. They must have asked why would zero be called love when it is empty, especially when Eala blanked her American foe in the opening set. Well, there could be many couples still together but the love aplenty has gone awry. Falling out of love happens to anybody, falling in love is easy, staying in love is tricky. It s about chemistry, how strangers combine the incompatibles is the crucible.

The Filipino scream team also celebrated even between points. Tennis is a sport where spectators celebrate a great point, regardless of who they root for. Golf, too. But how do Filipino fans unlearn their courtside behavior from the three Bs, basketball, beauty pageants and boxing at the unbeatable peak of the greatest Filipino athlete.

When asked if she could be the next Manny Pacquiao, Alex refused to occupy the empty space even if she has the weight. She said the pound for pound king belongs to a royalty of his own. Such humility and reality, she added one more reason that makes her the toast of the nation.

What s not to like about the new darling of Philippine sports tall, beautiful and well-spoken, both in English and Filipino, as opposed to many who use English as gauge for intelligence and leverage for excellence. It s not the language, it s the message that is more effective.

She may have lost in the first round, but the Filipino fans stayed with her until the end. They chorused Eala s statement across the tennis world, there is such a country as the Philippines. She brings warmth and pride to a nation of errors and terrors, and hope for a country lost and confused. Finally, Filipinos found another woman icon, for the right reasons.