Ashe moment beckons

MANILA, Philippines — The stakes – and the stage – just got bigger for Alex Eala in the Big Apple.

For the first time in her career, the Filipina star will play an official match at the world’s largest tennis venue – Arthur Ashe Stadium – with a ticket to the US Open Round of 16 on the line against good friend Iva Jovic today.

A bigger crowd, brighter lights, and more pressure await Eala in the third round – tentatively at 7 a.m. Manila time – after putting on a show in her first two matches at the 14,000-seat Louis Armstrong Stadium, the second biggest court at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows.

Eala already got a taste of Ashe last week. She faced Jovic in the Stars of the Open exhibition during Fan Week, which featured rising stars and legends led by 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer. Eala dropped the friendly match that also featured cameos from their fathers, but the electric atmosphere served as fuel for her strong start in the tournament proper.

She’s got her improvement from last year, when she bowed out in the second round in her main-draw debut as World No. 75. She arrived in New York this time as World No. 18 – her highest WTA ranking yet – and the No. 17 seed, her highest ever in a Grand Slam.

“My job is to be prepared for whatever court they put me in and whoever they put me against,” Eala said, responding to criticism over the US Open’s scheduling that saw her placed in bigger courts than former Grand Slam champions and higher-ranked players.

At 21, Eala has become one of the sport’s poster girls, drawing massive crowds in every city. At Louis Armstrong, she delivered in front of a sea of Filipino fans, sweeping No. 122 Mary Stoiana of the US, 6-1, 6-2, and No. 46 Oleksandra Oliynykova of Ukraine, 6-1, 6-4.

She needed 78 and 64 minutes in those matches to prove she is more than just hype.

But Jovic will be a mountain to climb. The 18-year-old American, ranked No. 14 in the world, also cruised through the first two rounds, beating No. 41 Magdalena Frech of Poland, 7-5, 6-3, and No. 104 Francesca Jones of Great Britain, 6-4, 6-4.