Eala disposes of Stoiana to advance in US Open
MANILA, Philippines — Welcome to New York, Alex Eala.
Eala barged to the next round of the 2026 US Open after dominating Mary Stoiana, 6-1, 6-2, Wednesday morning (Manila time) at the Louis Armstrong Stadium in New York.
The 17th-seeded Filipina started off the match with guns ablazing, going up 5-0 as she simply outmuscled Stoiana.
The American, though, finally put herself on the board after holding her serve, 1-5.
But the Filipina blanked her opponent in her own serve to take the first set, 6-1.
In the second set, the two tennisters traded games, with the World No. 122 taking a slim lead, 2-1.
But the World No. 18 Eala could not be stopped, stringing together back-to-back-to-back-to-back games to grab a 5-2 lead.
And in the eighth game, with Eala serving, Stoiana went up, 30-0.
But after Eala forced the deuce, back-to-back errors on the return pushed her to the win after an hour and 18 minutes.
“Yeah, of course it was very difficult. Every exchange had its own challenges, especially in the start of the second set. I think she put me in uncomfortable positions,” Eala said after the match.
“She's been having a great run, coming from qualis in a good past couple of weeks. So I'm really happy with this match,” she added.
The Filipina sensation will now take on Oleksandra Oliynykova in the next round.
The Ukrainian is ranked 46th in the world. She defeated Reese Brantmeier, 6-4, 6-4, earlier in the day.
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