By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Former US Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe believes Alex Eala deserves a spot on one of the biggest courts at the ongoing US Open.
In an interview with ESPN, the 1989 French Open doubles champion said tournament organizers should capitalize on Eala’s steady rise in the WTA rankings and her growing fan base to give her a she truly deserves.
“The USTA better make sure they put her on big courts. In New York, I think the crowd is going to be wild for her,” McEnroe said.
“It’s going to be a great story,” he added. “Better make sure they don’t put her on one of those side courts early in the tournament.”
The Filipina star has been drawing packed crowds at tournaments this season, including the Mubadala DC Open in Washington, D.C. a few weeks ago where organizers said 80 percent of ticket inquiries were related to Eala’s match schedule after her participation was announced.
Eala went on to win her breakthrough WTA title at the tournament, with fans willing to wait for hours and return the following day after intermittent rain delayed the championship match.
At the Australian Open last January, organizers scheduled Eala’s first-round match against Alycia Parks on Court 6, one of the tournament’s smaller courts, apparently not anticipating the massive crowd that would turn up. Lines of fans stretched around Melbourne Park, with reports that the court reached full capacity and security had to turn away thousands more hoping to get inside.
Former world No. 1 and multiple Grand Slam champions Lindsay Davenport and Martina Navratilova noted this at the Australian Open.
“She (Eala) probably needed to be on a bigger showcourt. She’s — I think — probably the most famous female from the Philippines, certainly one of the most famous people ever to come through there sporting world, and there were so many fans here who were just waiting to get in there,” said Davenport.
“The organizers need to keep more in mind where the players are from and what the actual fan base is here,” Navratilova said. “Because there’s massive Filipino audience in Melbourne, in Australia, so keep that in mind next time you make the schedule.”
Now ranked No. 18 from No. 49 at the Australian Open, expect more clamor for Eala. Draw has yet to be released as of press time.
Eala actually got a taste of playing at one of the big courts at the US Open when she and Felix Auger-Aliassime played against Gael Monfils and Elina Svitolina in the mixed doubles at the 14,000-seater Louis Armstrong Stadium. The Filipino-Canadian pair, however, lost to the married couple, 1-4, 1-4.
