Alex Eala cruised into the second round of the US Open with a 6-1, 6-2 triumph over qualifier Mary Stoiana at Louis Armstrong Stadium in Flushing Meadows, New York, on Tuesday (Wednesday PST).
The victory saw the 21-year-old Filipina sensation match her previous appearance at the Grand Slam, when she defeated Clara Tauson before bowing out in the second round.
Eala's first serve proved to be a key weapon, as she won 28 of 44 points when she landed her first serve, compared with Stoiana's 16. She also saved all six break points she faced.
Eala, the No. 17 seed in New York, now leads Stoiana 2-0 in their head-to-head record. She previously defeated the American 7-5, 6-2 in the second round of the ITF W100 Koser Jewelers Tennis Challenge in 2024.
"I want to thank the community here in New York, the tennis fans not just from the Philippines, who have been making me feel so loved and who are so enthusiastic and contributing to the growth of women's tennis," Eala said after the match.
"So thank you everybody for being part of my journey and making it such a pleasure to do my job,
"It's an amazing time, but it's also an amazing time for me to reflect on the past four years.
"But it's also an amazing time for me to look ahead and see my whole career ahead of me and see the people that I go through it with and share the blessings with them.
"So I'm really, really grateful to be here."
The Filipina took immediate control of the opening set, putting Stoiana under pressure on serve and dictating the early exchanges from the baseline. She broke the American's serve in the second and fourth games, racing to a 5-0 lead before Stoiana finally got on the scoreboard in the sixth game.
Eala then served out the set without much trouble.
Stoiana started the second set with more urgency, holding serve to open before putting Eala's serve under pressure and earning two break points in the second game. But Eala stood firm to fend off the threat and hold for 1-1.
Stoiana held again in the third game before earning another break point on Eala's serve in the fourth, but the Filipina once again denied her opponent.
Eala found her opening in the fifth game.
She converted her first break opportunity of the set to move ahead 3-2, then backed it up with a hold to consolidate the break and take a 4-2 lead.
The momentum ultimately proved enough, as Eala claimed another break in the seventh game before serving out the match to complete the straight-sets victory.
Eala reflected on her victory on the court where she won the 2022 US Open Juniors' title.
"I'm on Louis Armstrong, guys. I'm really grateful. I'm so happy."
Eala next faces Oleksandra Oliynykova in the second round after the Ukrainian dispatched Reese Brantmeier 6-4, 6-4.
The Filipina will be looking to avenge her defeat by Oliynykova in their previous meeting. Oliynykova rallied from a set down to defeat Eala in a grueling three-setter at the clay-court Strasbourg Open in May.
