Even in defeat, Eala proves she’ll need a bigger court next time
Alycia Parks was prepared for her match against Alex Eala.
She also wasn’t.
Confused?
The rising American prospect overcame a first-set bagel—and the loud and rowdy crowd that was unmistakably rooting for her Filipino foe—to score an upset of sorts following a 0-6, 6-3, 6-2 triumph on Monday at the Australian Open at Melbourne Park.
“It was very difficult,” Parks said in a story published on the WTA website. “I was expecting it, but I (also) wasn’t. She definitely has a good crowd. I just kept telling myself to stay in the zone.”
The crowd worked its way to Parks’ nerves—and game—in the first set and the world No. 100 needed an inner monologue to shut out the noise and take the first two sets to see off the world No. 49 Eala.
In defeat, Eala proved to be quite the draw that at least one major Australian news outlet hinted that tournament organizers may have flubbed the schedule by assigning the Filipino’s match on a smaller court.
Eala was thankful for the show of support, which polarized online commenters over suggestions that it crossed the undrawn line on tennis etiquette.
“It was so heartwarming,” Eala said of the fans who came out in droves to watch her play. And while the support fueled her in the first set and in her repeated comebacks in the last two sets, it also provided an added sting to the result.
“That’s one of the things that makes a loss like today a little bit harder is I know a lot of people were rooting for me,” the 20-year-old Eala said. “Then again, Alycia played really well. And you know I just hope that the support continues with the losses along with the wins.”
Scheduling snafu?
The queue for the Eala match was so long that at some point, fans had to be turned back.
“She is a huge draw and a breakout star. When she was playing in Hong Kong in October, we had queues of more than 100 meters long from local Filipinos wanting to see her,” Australian tennis administrator Peter Johnston told Foxsports, the news outlet that suggested that “the Australian Open struck a snafu on Monday with their decision to schedule trailblazing Filipino Alexandra Eala on Court 6, which is Melbourne Park’s designated party court.”
That following could get even bigger and more boisterous should Eala decide to see action in the Philippine Open, a WTA event launched to capitalize on the star’s popularity—and one she is now more likely to participate.
Eala has also been named Female Athlete of the Year by the Philippine Sportswriters Association.
Chants of “Let’s go, Alex!” dominated Melbourne Park early before Parks reached for the silencer and drew an ovation of her own at the end of the match.
“I was starting to think I wasn’t focused on the game plan, which is why I played better in the second and third set,” Parks said. “I was just so focused on the crowd in the first set, which is why it went the way it went.”
Eala, meanwhile, is moving on.
“I’m still young, 20, so learning how to deal with all of this attention,” she said. “I guess this is one of the moments that I can reflect on what this means for Philippine tennis. I’m the only Filipina in the draw this year. I’m the only Filipina that’s ever been in the draw, I think. So there are positives to take away.
“Like I said, so much gratitude and super thankful.” —WITH REPORTS FROM AP AND INQUIRER SPORTS DESK
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