Eala overpowers American foe, marches to US Open’s 2nd round

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Alex Eala was just too much for American challenger Mary Stoiana, handing her a dominant 6-1, 6-2 loss to advance to the second round of the ongoing US Open at Louis Armstrong Stadium in New York on Sept. 2, 2026.

As expected, Eala went off to the races against the inexperienced American netter, zooming to a commanding 5-0 lead in just 28 minutes.

Although Stoiana held serve to prevent a bagel, Eala didn’t play around in the seventh game, displaying a flawless service game to quickly gain momentum with a 1-0 advantage.

It was a walk in the park for the Filipina ace as her revamped serving game and baseline aggression caught Stoiana off guard, forcing her to play defensively for the majority of the opening set.

However, Stoiana showed some signs of life in the second set after briefly taking a 2-1 lead off back-to-back service holds, highlighted by a courageous stand in the second game when Eala managed to claw her way back from a 15-40 deficit to force deuce.

Instead of panicking, Stoiana relied on her serve-and-volley game, an adjustment her camp made that helped her regain her groove at the start of the second set.

Stoiana nearly grabbed a momentum-boosting 3-1 lead after needing only one point to win the third game, but Eala showed resilience by forcing another deuce en route to a hold and a 2-all deadlock.

Unfortunately, Stoiana’s missed break opportunity cost her the set and the match as Eala turned on the jets with a demoralizing 4-0 run to end the match in style.

Eala scored two break points in the next 18 minutes of action while also giving Stoiana a dose of her own medicine by approaching the net after a vicious return.

Aside from her clinical net winners, Eala’s baseline variation became a difficult puzzle for Stoiana to solve, especially in the final two games when the Filipina mixed topspin aggression with a rare flat backhand attack.

In the final game, Stoiana had a brief 30-40 lead and tallied another break point but eventually failed to capitalize after committing back-to-back unforced errors, which officially sealed Eala’s win.

Eala wrapped up the convincing first-round win with 61 total points won, including four break points and 23 on the return.

“Every exchange had its own challenges,” Eala said after the win.

“At the start of the second set, she put me in uncomfortable positions, and she’s been having a great run coming from quali and a good past couple of weeks. So I’m really happy to win this match.”

Awaiting Eala in the second round is Ukrainian netter Oleksandra Oliynykova, who earlier swept Reese Brantmeier, 6-4, 6-4, to advance.