Aryna Sabalenka began the defence of her US Open title with a battling win – but the most popular victory of the opening day went to young Filipina Alexandra Eala.
Flushing Meadows is very close to an area of Queens known as Little Manila because of the large Filipino community and they flocked to Grandstand court to cheer on 20-year-old Eala, who is one of the rising stars of the women’s tour.
The noise levels rose in a dramatic encounter against Danish 14th seed Clara Tauson, which went all the way to a deciding tie-break after Eala clawed her way back from 5-1 down in the third set.
The left-hander saw four match points come and go before eventually taking the tie-break for a 6-3 2-6 7-6 (13/11) victory that was celebrated in raucous fashion.
It made Eala the first woman from the Philippines to win a grand slam singles match in the open era, and 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 here at the US Open, I’m so grateful they made me feel like I’m home.”
Also making history for Asia was Indonesia’s Janice Tjen, who upset 24th seed Veronika Kudermetova 6-4 4-6 6-4, becoming the first player from her country to win a main draw slam match for 22 years.
World number one Sabalenka did not have all things her own way against Rebeka Masarova but avoided any real danger, claiming a 7-5 6-1 victory.
Sabalenka recovered from an early break down and then showed her defensive skills on a memorable set point to forge ahead, after which she pulled away to victory.
The top seed will next face Russian Polina Kudermetova, who became the first winner of the tournament when opponent Nuria Parrizas Diaz retired after only four games.
