US Open: Alexandra Eala upsets Clara Tauson, creates history for the Philippines

New York, Aug 25 (IANS) Alexandra Eala became the first player from the Philippines in the Open Era to win a Grand Slam main-draw match with her first-round at the US Open.

The 2022 US Open junior girls’ singles champion and world No. 70 Eala came back from a double break in the third set to upset No. 14 seed Clara Tauson, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(11), and reach the second round of a Grand Slam for the first time.

On the Miami hard courts in the spring, the lefty—who at the time was ranked world No. 140—sent shockwaves through the tennis stratosphere when she defeated three Grand Slam champions in a row—Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys, and Iga Swiatek—to earn a semifinal berth at the event.

After trading holds through the first four games, she broke Tauson for a 3-2 lead in the opening set -- moments after the Dane complained to the chair umpire about crowd noise, prompting a warning to the spectators. When Eala extended her lead to 5-3, the umpire again asked fans to quiet down during points, WTA report

Eala closed out the first set, but Tauson quickly seized momentum in the second, breaking serve three times to force a decider.

Tauson raced to a 5-1 lead in the third and headed for victory. But Eala -- and the crowd -- roared back. She broke Tauson twice while the Dane was serving for the match, the second break coming after a double fault on break point.

The double fault immediately followed a video review confirming Eala had hit the ball on her side of the net to set up the break opportunity -- a ruling that left Tauson visibly frustrated.

Despite her frustration, Tauson saved a match point moments later to force a third-set tiebreak. She rallied from an 8-4-deficit and saved three more match points, but it wasn’t enough to stop Eala from securing her first Grand Slam main-draw win.

--IANS

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