A roar in silence
NAGOYA—Alex Eala wants gold, but the Philippine tennis ace knows an Asian Games campaign also requires being ready for everything else that comes with chasing it.
That includes rain delays, venue changes and the possibility of defeat—and that rare occasion of playing in front of empty stands.
Eala handled the first two without trouble Monday, routing Thailand’s Patcharin Cheapchandej, 6-1, 6-0, in just 55 minutes to advance to the quarterfinals of the women’s singles at Higashiyama Park Tennis Center.
“I think losing in general is a disappointing experience. Of course I want the gold; everyone wants the gold,” Eala said. “I work hard, I’m here to compete and like every tournament, I love to win.”
Her opening match was initially scheduled on center court no earlier than 11 a.m., but rain disrupted the program and forced organizers to shuffle matches around.
Eala eventually found herself playing inside a cramped practice facility where only technical officials and essential personnel were allowed.
And she was confronted with a scenario she has never experienced since her abrupt rise: There was no roaring crowd, no flag-waving overseas Filipino workers and none of the familiar chants of “Laban!” from the stands.
Eala has always played to packed crowds on the women’s tour, with organizers bumping her up to bigger courts regularly to accommodate the number of fans who snap up tickets to watch her play.
The muted surroundings this time, however, did little to dull Eala’s game.
She raced to a 4-0 lead before Cheapchandej finally got on the board in the fifth game. Eala continued to dictate the match from there and shut out the Thai in the second set.
It was the kind of composed performance expected from Eala, one of the continent’s leading players and a two-time bronze medalist at the 2022 Asian Games.
“But you know losses are possible, and they happen often, so if it comes to that, I have to accept it and try to be better,” Eala said. “But I would love the gold.”
Eala, who received a first-round bye as the tournament’s top player, next faces Chinese Taipei’s Joanna Garland in the third round.
How far she goes will also depend on how she manages herself through a packed tournament.
“I’m pretty good. I’ll see how I’ll go throughout the week,” Eala said. “My health is always the priority so I make my decisions and plan my schedule.”
Eala, however, did get to mingle with fans who had hoped to watch her play as they waited outside the venue in the rain to catch a glimpse of her.
“I mean, I just want to thank them, the Filipinos and also the foreigners. Thank you so much, especially to those who waited in the rain and to those who are here now,” she said.
Eala’s presence was also felt elsewhere in the Philippine tennis campaign.
Tenny Madis and Stefi Aludo advanced to the round of 16 of the women’s doubles with a 6-3, 7-6 (4) victory over Indonesia’s Anjali Junarto and Meydiana Reinnamah—and with Eala among the teammates cheering them on.
“The support really feels different when Alex is there,” Madis said. “Our whole team was there cheering for us. The energy from that support is different.”
Madis and Aludo needed that energy in a difficult second set.
After taking a 3-1 advantage, the Filipinos watched Junarto and Reinnamah string together four consecutive games to move ahead, 5-3.
Madis and Aludo steadied themselves, forced a tiebreak and closed out the victory.
