As they were unable to keep their married couple opposite them at bay.
On Tuesday, August 25 (Manila time), Filipina tennis star Alex Eala had her first match in the US Open in New York.
For the said event of the Grand Slam tournament, she teamed up with world no. 4 Felix Auger-Aliassime to go against Elina Svitolina and Gael Monfils.
In this event, a modified format is being followed, with duos only need to secure four points to win the set.
From the opening set, the tandem already struggled to gain footing, leading to the married pair standing opposite them to take the early lead and, later, the coveted win of the match. The final scoreline was 4-1, 4-1.
With this development, Alex and Felix are already out of contention in the mixed doubles category, with the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) world no. 18 shifting her attention to her much-anticipated second time in the US Open’s women’s singles event.
She will also participate at the Stars of the Open special charity event on August 27 (local time), where she will play against her close friend, Iva Jonvic, in the said match that will only have a special single-set format.
Earlier this week, Eala was able to reach her current rank in the global index and made history by becoming the first Southeast Asian to do so.
