'Eala-mania' grips Canada
MANILA, Philippines -- Eala-mania was in full swing in Toronto on Thursday morning (Manila time).
It seems wherever Alex Eala plays, she has a “home court advantage.”
It was no different in Toronto.
Playing at Center Court against Alycia Parks, Eala barged into the third round of the Canadian Open after outlasting her American opponent, 6-1, 4-6, 6-2.
Like in her previous tournaments, chants of “Let’s go Alex!” rained from the stands.
Whenever she gets behind or scores a point, the Filipino delegation made sure that their voices were heard.
And in Canada, Philippine flags were also on full display from the stands.
“Iwagayway ninyo ang mga bandila niyo, patingin! There are so many Filipinos in the crowd tonight. So many flags! Thank you!” Eala said in the post-match interview.
“I am eternally grateful. I mean, I just came off Washington so I really feel like this is a celebration,” she added.
Eala won her breakthrough WTA title in the Mubadala DC Open just a couple of days ago, being the first Filipina to win such a championship.
“And mga kababayan, linggo-linggo ko kayong nakikita, sinusuportahan ako, linggo-linggo kong nakikita gaano niyo kamahal ang kapwa niyo Pinoy. Kaya proud na proud na proud na proud na proud akong maging Pinoy.”
With a huge chunk of the crowd behind her, Eala overcame great service and return performances from Parks.
Parks had 10 aces to Eala’s two, and punched in 34 winners against the Filipina’s 12. But the former committed 56 unforced errors to the latter’s 26.
With a WTA 500 title now under her belt, the 20th-ranked Filipina aims to bring home a WTA 1000 championship this time around.
She will take on Caty McNally in the next round. The American, ranked 70th in the world, stunned Linda Noskova, 7-6(5), 6-1 earlier in the day.
“Maraming salamat, mga kababayan, mahal ko kayong lahat. Thank you to everyone who came here tonight, thank you. Thank you to everyone who’s supporting tennis and creating atmospheres like this."
- Latest
- Trending
