Eala marvels at Federer, tennis legends from US Open stands
MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala is lifelong tennis fan first before becoming a rising star.
And the 21-year-old Filipina pride made the most out of it by being a witness to the comeback of Swiss legend Roger Federer at the sidelines of the US Open before she shifts her focus on to her anticipated singles campaign of the season's last Grand Slam on August 30 to September 13.
Not even a loss in the mixed doubles with World No. 4 Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada hours earlier could dampen Eala's mood as a super fan, having the moment of her life from the royal box as Federer returned to the Arthur Ashe Stadium at the USTA Billie Jean King Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York for the US Open exhibition matches featuring the sporting greats.
After last seeing action in 2022, Federer, 45, scored a 6-3 win over his former rival Andy Roddick, 43, of the United States. He then teamed up with American legend John McEnroe in beating Roddick and Andre Agassi, also from USA, in the doubles exhibition, 7-5.
The exhibition matches among legends is part of the US Open Fan Week that will also include Stars of the Open this weekend featuring rising stars like Eala, her good friends Iva Jovic of the USA and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine, Joao Fonseca of Brazil, Amanda Anisimova, Learner Tien and Alex Michelson of the USA as well as Arthur Fills of France.
"Enjoying a night full of legendary tennis," the WTA posted on Instagram, featuring Eala in yellow jacket at the red carpet and the center court box of the biggest tennis stadium in the world.
Aside from his achievements none bigger than the 20 Grand Slam titles, Federer is best remembered by the Filipino fans as one of the greats who had watched Eala's match against Jasmine Paolini in Wimbledon last month.
Eala, now WTA No. 18, ran out of steam against world No. 20 Jasmine Paolini of Italy 4-6, 6-4, 3-6, but still had a magical run to the Round of 16 that drew reactions and praises from legends all over the world, including Federer, Billie Jean King and Maria Sharapova among the few.
Projected to earn her highest seeding in a Grand Slam main draw ever, Eala has high hopes of surpassing the feat in the US Open against a still-to-be-determined opponent pending the official draw on Saturday.
On Tuesday night, Eala, with Canadian partner Auger-Aliassime debuted in a Grand Slam mixed doubles with a 4-1, 4-1 defeat against the wife-husband duo of French veteran Gael Monfils, ATP No. 307, and Ukrainian ace Elina Svitolina, WTA No. 9.
The US Open since last year changed the format in the mixed doubles from race-to-6 games per set to race-to-4 to attract more stars without sacrificing more time from their singles and doubles campaigns (men's and women's).
As a result, the US Open this year has drawn its most star-studded mixed doubles cast led by the tandems of Novak Djokovic-Aryna Sabalenka, Serena Williams-Carlos Alcaraz, World Doubles No. 1 Katerina Siniakova-Henry Patten; reigning champion Sara Errani-Andrea Vavassori; and runner-up Iga Swiatek-Casper Ruud among the few.
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