By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Alex Eala, the country’s newest superstar, is scheduled to face a familiar rival in qualifier Mary Stoiana in the first round of the US Open in New York on Sunday, Aug. 31 (Philippine time).
This marks the second time the 17th-seeded Filipina will be trading shots with the 23-year-old American following their first meeting in 2024 at an International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournament in Landisville, Pennsylvania.
In that W100 event, Eala defeated Stoiana in the second round in straight sets.
On paper, Eala looks to enjoy a big advantage against Stoiana. The Filipina boasts of a career-high of No. 18 and is coming off a breakthrough WTA Tour title victory at the Mubadala DC Open in Washington DC a few weeks ago.
Eala’s much-awaited match with the American qualifier is set at 10 p.m.
Eala is also on a mission of eclipsing her previous best Grand Slam finish of a fourth-round appearance at the Wimbledon a few months back.
A victory for Eala would arrange her a second-round meeting with the winner between Oleksandra Oliynykova of Ukraine and wildcard Reese Brantmeier of the United States.
But Stoiana is no pushover, having steadily improved over the past months by propelling to a career-high No. 122 this week to No. 223 at the start of the year. Last year, she ranked as low as No. 378.
The American is also expected to make the most of her Grand Slam main-draw debut after falling short in the qualifying rounds of the first three Grand Slam tournaments of the year.
She dug deep and beat Harmony Tan, 6-4, 6-3; Katie Swan, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-3; and Yue Yuan, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, to reach the main draw.
