Filipino tennis star Alexandra Eala was overcome with emotion as she claimed a shock first-round victory at the US Open.
Eala, who is 75th in the WTA rankings, collapsed to her back immediately after her victory over 14th seed Clara Tauson in what was a nail-biting New York clash.
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The underdog claimed the first set 6-3 before her Danish opponent won the second 6-2.
The topsy-turvy clash went to a championship tie-break in the deciding set after the games were squared at 6-6.
Incredibly, Eala was trailing 5-1 in the third set before forcing the match to a tie-break, which she won 13-11.
Fans inside Grandstand Court at Flushing Meadows were delighted for Eala, who made history in the process of winning the match.
The 20-year-old is the first Filipino player to win a main draw match in a Grand Slam during the Open era.
This follows on from her history-making performance at the Miami Open back in March where she defeated Australian Open champion Madison Keys.
That triumph saw Eala become the first WTA player from the Philippines to beat a top ten opponent during the Open Era.
Awaiting Eala in the second round of the US Open is American Claire Liu, who had to qualify for the tournament or Spaniard Cristina Bucsa.
What Eala said after historic win
Eala was similarly overcome with emotion during her post-match interview on court.
Reflecting on her victory, she said: “It’s so special. To be Filipino is something I take so much pride in.
“I don’t have a home tournament, so to be able to have this community at the US Open… I’m so grateful that they made me feel like home.”
The main draw of the US Open kicked off on Sunday with the tournament set to end on September 7.
Eala’s win over Tauson was the biggest shock of the tournament in both the men’s and women’s draws at the time of writing.
There were no such problems for 2021 champion Emma Raducanu.
She dispatched Japanese opponent Ena Shibahara 6-1 6-2 in just over an hour.
Meanwhile, reigning champion Aryna Sabalenka is safely through to the second round as well as she beat Swiss player Rebeka Masarova 7-5 6-1.
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On the men’s side of the draw, there were easy wins for home favourites Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz on day one.
Both the American stars claimed straight sets victories.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
