Alex Eala makes history, wins US Open girls singles title

Alex Eala won her first singles grand slam title. US Open

By Ivan Saldajeno

MANILA--History has been made early Sunday (Philippine Time) after Alex Eala won the US Open junior girls' championship.

Eala defeated Czech Republic's Lucie Havlickova, 6-2, 6-4, in Flushing Meadows, New York to become the first Filipino tennister to win a singles grand slam title at any level.

Eala, seeded 10th in the US Open, needed breakaways in both sets to seal her triumph against the reigning French Open girls champ, who entered as the second seed.

With Set 1 tied, 2-2, Eala won the next four games including two service breaks to gain the upper hand.

She even began Set 2 by breaking Havlickova's serve in style, that is, sweeping the opening game of the set.

However, Havlickova broke Eala's serve in the next game and eventually got the advantage.

Both players went back and forth from there, but the turning point came in the ninth game of the second set when Eala broke Havlickova's serve anew with a near-flawless game, setting up Game 10 with her serving for the match.

Eala completed her dream run with another impressive game even as her first serves were on point almost all match long.

Counting her championships in the doubles division, Eala has now won three grand slam titles, but her US Open win should be her most memorable.

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