NEW YORK – In Alexander Eala’s fourth game of the first round at the US Open, a long point unfolded that drew growing sobs and cheers. At that time, Eala sent a cross shot by the American Mary Stoiana to finish it, which had built up to a full roar.
The referee’s chair was not amused by Marijana Veljovic.
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“Please,” said the crowd. “Out of respect for both players, keep your voices down.”
Since Eala has risen this season to the point where he is a fringe contender for the US Open title, fan tag has become a topic around his match. As the first significant tennis player from the Philippines, he drew amazing crowds from one tournament to the next, largely filled with people new to the sport and not imbued with the habit of being happy and relaxed.
The wild atmosphere created other soporific tennis tournaments. He also placed some opponents, or at least made them uncomfortable. Losing to Eala in the final last summer in Washington DC, in front of a heavily partisan crowd, American Jessica Pegula admitted that she was playing a similar road game.
“Even though it didn’t start, it was still a great air,” he said. “I’d rather play in an atmosphere like that than none” [in the stands].
Fans cheer on Alexandra Eala while holding the flag for the Philippines in her first-round match at the US Open on Tuesday in New York.
(AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
Except for one moment early in Tuesday’s encounter, Eala’s performance was muted during Tuesday’s 6-1, 6-2 victory. It was possible that Eala would lead the match in the morning with some ease, and wrap it up without much drama. It had also been a little earlier in the night when Gael Monfils, the French showrunner playing the last US Open before retirement, fired up the crowd with an acrobatic ball shot in his victory over Adolfo Daniel Vallejo.
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It was a tough act to follow.
But with Eala, in No. The 17th seed, going deeper into the tournament and playing more competitive matches, could be a crowd factor.
“I think now I’ve experienced a lot recently and I think in terms of professionalism and compartmentalizing I’ve got a better rhythm to it,” said Eala. “But not old. Those [the Filipino fans] yet I wonder.”
As explained in a Yahoo Sports story last week, Eala is the biggest athlete from the Philippines to come with Manny Pacquiao. A country of 114 million people with a huge range around the world — including nearly a quarter of a million Filipinos living in the New York area — the country’s passion for sports is not often represented on the world stage.
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He gets huge views for his matches and news conferences, he does huge sponsorships and sales tournaments in places like Toronto, which stand for Filipino food this year.
When it was announced that the US Open would be held for the first time in the night session of Louis Armstrong, the court, ticket prices on the secondary market immediately spiked to around $400 each. And his fans certainly represented him on Tuesday, waving Philippine flags after he won each point.
“I had experience with big crowds last year and I navigated well to keep my focus and what I need to focus on,” he said. “And in the end, when you get into the groove, we played tennis and it’s a match where there are many or none. The players get into that groove, the effect of external factors is less.”
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Eala didn’t need much fan support to take care of business against Stoiana. But if he does progress deeper — toward, say, a potential fourth-round matchup against Coco Gauff — it will be interesting to see how much of a factor his team plays into the American star at the US Open.
“This was the first day playing in one of the main stadiums here and it was very big and mostly covered with a roof,” Eala said. “It adds to the atmosphere, but it’s something you have to navigate and of course coming in as a seeded player and pretty well in this American event, it brings a different vibe. A little more confidence, but a little more hope I think I handled it well.”