By MARK REY MONTEJO
Alex Eala might bump into another ‘kababayan’ in the coming US Open Tennis Championships as Filipino-American Andre Ilagan claimed one of the nine wild-card berths in the qualifying round in Flushing Meadows, New York.
The 25-year-old Ilagan, currently ranked at No. 210 in the ATP rankings, needs to prevail in all three games so he could punch his ticket to the main draw.
Currently ranked No. 210 in the ATP rankings, Ilagan enters the US Open on the heels of back-to-back runner-up finishes at ATP Challenger events in Lexington and Brownsburg, United States.
“It’s always, ‘All right, do the right thing, and if you win, cool. If you lose, hey, keep doing it again,’” said Ilagan in an interview with a local radio station in Hawaii.
“Just sticking to it, and that’s pretty much who I am today,” he added.
Ilagan became the first-ever University of Hawai‘i (UH) alumnus to compete in a major tournament, or in a Grand Slam event. It was also his first stint at the US Open.
Prior to his professional stint and success in several Challenger events, he was considered as one of the best tennis players to suit up for UH, with back-to-back NCAA Championships in 2022 and, 2023 – his final year – and being the school’s first-ever Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) All-American.
Ilagan also collected numerous individual accolades in both singles and doubles events during his collegiate years. He was already a force to be reckoned with in his
Farrington High School days where he captured back-to-back HHSAA state singles titles as a junior and senior.
Under the tutelage of former UH player turned coach Daniel Llaneras, Ilagan looks to get the better out of his rivals with qualifying games set to kick off this Sunday, Aug. 23.
