{"id":109131,"date":"2025-08-25T15:26:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-25T15:26:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/109131\/"},"modified":"2025-08-25T15:26:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-25T15:26:11","slug":"u-s-open-recap-alex-eala-makes-more-tennis-history-for-the-philippines-in-new-york","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/109131\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Open recap: Alex Eala makes more tennis history for the Philippines in New York"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Athletic has live coverage of Day 2 of the 2025 U.S. Open <\/a>and you can follow all the U.S. Open coverage<\/a> too.<\/p>\n

Welcome to the U.S. Open<\/a> briefing, where The Athletic\u00a0will explain the stories behind the stories on each day of the tournament.<\/p>\n

On day one, a rising star made more history, a four-year wait came to an end, and a strange first-night match graced Arthur Ashe Stadium.<\/p>\n

A stunning match writes another chapter in a nation\u2019s tennis record<\/p>\n

Say this for Alexandra Eala<\/a>: She knows how to make an entrance.<\/p>\n

Eala, the 20-year-old from the Philippines who has been making tennis history for her country all year, became the first Filipino to win a main-draw match at a Grand Slam in the Open Era, which goes back more than 50 years. And she did it in style, coming back from 5-1 down in the third set to prevail 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(11) in a wild tussle with No. 14 seed Clara Tauson of Denmark on Grandstand.<\/p>\n

Eala\u2019s win hardly comes out of nowhere. She beat Iga \u015awi\u0105tek at the Miami Open<\/a> in March, as well as two other Grand Slam champions \u2014 Madison Keys and Jelena Ostapenko \u2014 before falling in the semifinal to Jessica Pegula. But she had struggled to find wins in top-tier tour events since then.<\/p>\n

For a long while Sunday, it looked like that would continue. But then Eala, who won the junior title here three years ago, started nailing her ground strokes and Tauson went off the boil. She had found the weight of support for Eala difficult from the off, complaining to the umpire about an environment in which even her double faults were cheered.<\/p>\n

Eala collapsed on the court in tears when it was over, in front of the packed crowd of 8,000 who had adopted her as their own. With such a large Filipino diaspora in Woodside, Queens, just a few minutes away by train, Eala felt like she was playing at home.<\/p>\n

How did she manage the upset? The answer was surprising.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt comes down to experience,\u201d said the WTA Tour rookie. \u201cAlthough I\u2019m at the start of my WTA career, I\u2019ve played so, so many matches, and tight matches and tense moments can happen at any level. I\u2019ve been playing since I was four. I\u2019m 20 now, so that\u2019s 16 years of experience, you know, whether it\u2019s at the junior level, 10-and-under level or professional level. That mental strength and focus are the keys to coming out victorious in those moments.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matt Futterman<\/p>\n

Novak Djokovic\u2019s strange night in New York\u2026<\/p>\n

As quests for 25 Grand Slam singles titles go, this was a weird one.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Novak Djokovic<\/a> looked like he enjoyed his time in Arthur Ashe Stadium even less than his opponent, the 19-year-old American Learner Tien, which is saying something considering Djokovic beat Tien fairly handily 6-1, 7-6(3), 6-2 on a strange night.<\/p>\n

Maybe it was the blister on his foot. Or maybe he\u2019s homesick. He lamented the other day that if he played well in this tournament, he would miss his daughter\u2019s birthday on Sept. 2. Maybe it\u2019s coming into a tournament knowing that his chances are dim in the era of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.<\/p>\n

\"Serbia's<\/p>\n

Novak Djokovic knows defeating Carlos Alcaraz would be tough. (William West \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Djokovic came in having not played a match since Sinner beat him at Wimbledon. And that\u2019s about how he looked after the first set, as he slogged through the rest of the night and nudged Tien toward capitulation.<\/p>\n

He double-faulted on his first match point, and shook his head in frustration. Two points later, after another error, Tien had broken and extended the match to another game. But six points later, Djokovic had lived to fight another night after his 91st win at the U.S. Open.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best night session in the world,\u201d Djokovic told the 24,000 who packed the stadium. \u201cQuite a strange match.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

He claimed to still have the fire and the drive.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI still want to compete, hopefully you guys are still enjoying my tennis,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Surely some did. But did he?\u00a0<\/p>\n

He will get another young American, 22-year-old Zach Svajda, on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Matt Futterman<\/p>\n

\u2026 And Daniil Medvedev\u2019s even stranger early morning<\/p>\n

Daniil Medvedev, the 2021 U.S. Open champion, was staring down a second consecutive limp first-round defeat to Benjamin Bonzi of France at a Grand Slam. Then a photographer walked onto Louis Armstrong Stadium and sparked the most unusual six minutes the U.S. Open has seen for some time<\/a>.<\/p>\n

France\u2019s Bonzi was up match point against former world No. 1 and U.S. Open champion Medvedev on Louis Armstrong Stadium, leading 6-3, 7-5, 5-4, when he missed a first serve. At this point, a photographer walked onto the court, thinking the match was about to finish. Because of the delay caused by the photographer coming onto the court, umpire Greg Allensworth ruled that Bonzi should have a first serve back, rather than having to hit a second serve.<\/p>\n

Medvedev, always a volatile player who knows how to work a crowd, berated Allensworth and demanded that the crowd make some noise to show their displeasure.<\/p>\n

The United States Tennis Association, which organises the U.S. Open, later told The Athletic that the photographer\u2019s credentials for the tournament have been revoked after being escorted from the court by security.<\/p>\n

After claiming that Allensworth \u201cwanted to leave\u201d because he gets \u201cpaid by the match, not by the hour,\u201d he shouted toward the camera: \u201cReilly Opelka was right!\u201d and \u201cWhat did Reilly Opelka say?\u201d<\/p>\n

This was in apparent reference to the American player saying in February that: \u201cThe guy (Allensworth) shouldn\u2019t have a job or should be sidelined for about four weeks, maybe learn a thing or two,\u201d after he penalized Opelka for swearing at a spectator at the Dallas Open<\/a>.<\/p>\n

After a six-minute delay, Bonzi was broken and lost the game, the set, and then the next set. Medvedev appeared to have been resuscitated by his own antics.<\/p>\n

But the Frenchman stayed with the contest, and in a poetic reversal, he broke Medvedev at *4-5 in the fifth set to take the match 6-3, 7-5, 6-7(5), 0-6, 6-4. The second consecutive first-round defeat arrived for Medvedev. It was just anything but limp.<\/p>\n

Charlie Eccleshare<\/p>\n

Emma Raducanu\u2019s four-year wait is over<\/p>\n

In keeping with the wildness of Emma Raducanu<\/a>\u2019s U.S. Open title win four years ago is the fact that until Sunday, she hadn\u2019t won a match at the tournament since.<\/p>\n

She finally put that record right Sunday, with a comprehensive 6-1, 6-2 win over Japan\u2019s Ena Shibahara on the opening day.<\/p>\n

In her on-court interview and news conference, she referenced ending that unwanted sequence, unprompted, and then expanded on how it had been a preoccupation coming into the tournament.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been on my mind,\u201d she said in the news conference.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been four years, and it\u2019s a very special tournament. I did feel different coming into it this year, like I was doing the right things day to day, but still, it\u2019s in the back of your head. So I\u2019m just very pleased to have overcome that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Emma Raducanu recorded her first victory in New York in four years. (Clive Brunskill \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

After taking only 62 minutes to dispatch Shibahara, Raducanu hit the practice courts to get some extra work in before her next assignment: a second-round match against Indonesia\u2019s Janice Tjen on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Tjen is a qualifier, like Raducanu was when she won the title, but the 23-year-old comes in off the back of constantly winning in the tennis minor leagues, like Victoria Mboko<\/a> and Lo\u00efs Boisson<\/a> this year. Tjen came into her first Grand Slam tournament with nothing to lose, and duly knocked out No. 24 seed Veronika Kudermetova in three sets.<\/p>\n

Charlie Eccleshare<\/p>\n

Other notable results on day 1
\nWorld No. 1 and defending champion Aryna Sabalenka (1)<\/a> saw her opening match go to a familiar script. She lost her serve, got it back, and looked to be heading to a tiebreak against Switzerland\u2019s Rebeka Masarova, but a superb defensive shot off a smash let her steal the first set 7-5. The second was much more straightforward, with Sabalenka coming through 7-5, 6-1.
\nLast year\u2019s men\u2019s singles finalist Taylor Fritz<\/a> (4) came through an all-American clash, beating wild card Emilio Nava 7-5, 6-2, 6-3, while No. 6 seed Ben Shelton eased through in straight sets against Peruvian qualifier Ignacio Buse.
\nEmma Navarro (10), who has been having a tough season, came through a tight match against Wang Yafan 7-6(9), 6-3 as she seeks to defend her run to the semifinals 12 months ago.
\nShot\u00a0of the day<\/p>\n

Mariano Navone could have lost this point twice against Marcos Giron. Instead, he won it once.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

Up next:<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfbe Women\u2019s singles: Barbora Krej\u010d\u00edkov\u00e1 vs. Victoria Mboko (22)<\/p>\n

11 a.m. ET on ESPN\/ESPN+<\/p>\n

This is one of the anticipated first-round matches in the women\u2019s singles draw. Mboko, the Canadian 18-year-old who won her first WTA 1000 title at the Canadian Open, faces two-time Grand Slam champion Krej\u010d\u00edkov\u00e1.<\/p>\n

Mboko beat four major winners en route to the title in Montreal. This time last year, she was ranked outside the top 300; now she is 23rd in the world. Can she continue her hot streak in New York?<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfbe Men\u2019s singles: Jo\u00e3o Fonseca vs. Miomir Kecmanovi\u0107<\/p>\n

~1:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+<\/p>\n

Fonseca exited last year\u2019s U.S. Open in devastating fashion, losing in the final round of qualifying. Since then, he has become one of the star attractions in the sport, bringing waves of Brazilian fans to his matches.<\/p>\n

Kecmanovi\u0107, a steady pro who will test the Brazilian\u2019s rally tolerance, isn\u2019t an ideal opponent as Fonseca searches for his first main-draw win in New York.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfbe Women\u2019s singles: Venus Williams (WC) vs. Karolina Muchov\u00e1 (11)<\/p>\n

7 p.m. ET on ESPN+<\/p>\n

Venus Williams is back at the U.S. Open, with the seven-time major winner making her 25th main-draw appearance in the singles.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a tough draw for the 45-year-old, taking on 11th seed Karol\u00edna Muchov\u00e1. The Czech player is a back-to-back U.S. Open semifinalist, known for her crafty shotmaking,<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfbe Men\u2019s singles: Reilly Opelka vs. Carlos Alcaraz (2)<\/p>\n

~9 p.m. ET on ESPN\/ESPN+<\/p>\n

The last time Alcaraz graced Arthur Ashe Stadium, Dutch player Botic van de Zandschulp upset the Spaniard in the second round.<\/p>\n

Alcaraz, the 2022 U.S. Open champion, faces a tricky assignment in the big-serving Opelka. It\u2019s the first meeting between the two players, and Alcaraz will need to adjust to the lack of rhythm he will get against Opelka\u2019s serve.<\/p>\n

U.S. Open men\u2019s draw 2025U.S. Open women\u2019s draw 2025<\/p>\n

Tell us what you noticed on the first day\u2026<\/p>\n

(Top photo of Alexandra Eala: Getty Images; design: Eamonn Dalton \/ The Athletic)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Athletic has live coverage of Day 2 of the 2025 U.S. Open and you can follow all…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":109132,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[72],"tags":[99,428],"class_list":{"0":"post-109131","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tennis","8":"tag-sports","9":"tag-tennis"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109131","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109131"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109131\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/109132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}