By REUTERS

Alex Eala’s US Open journey came to an end after absorbing a 6-4, 6-3 loss to Cristina Bucsa of Spain in their second-round clash early Thursday (Philippine time) at Flushing Meadows, New York.

The Filipina ace fought bravely, but the Spanish bet showed poise as she secured the win to advance to the third round—her deepest run yet in five US Open appearances.

Eala, meanwhile, concluded a historic campaign in which she became the first Filipino to score a Grand Slam main draw victory in the Open era, following her comeback win against Clara Tauson of Denmark in the opening round.

The 20-year-old Eala kept the opening set tight after taking a 4-3 lead, but two consecutive errors in Game 8 allowed the 27-year-old Bucsa to claw back and force a deadlock.

Game 9 saw Eala and Bucsa trade blows through two deuces, but back-to-back errors from the Filipina handed the Spanish the breakthrough to go up 5-4.

In the next game, Bucsa’s attack error gave Eala a glimmer of hope, but the Spanish bet steadied herself and punished the Filipino’s miscues to clinch the first set.

Eala committed a total of 11 errors in that opening set alone.

The world no. 75 Eala once again kept it close in Set 2 and even drew a 3-3 deadlock, but Bucsa dominated Game 7 to race to a crucial 4-3 cushion. Bucsa served an ace for a 40-30 lead in Game 8 before Eala’s attack sailed out, giving the Spanish tennis ace the match point at 5-3.

Bucsa, who has been a fixture at the US Open since 2021, pounced on Eala’s scrambling defense to go up 40-30 in Game 9.

The Filipina refused to yield and forced a deuce, but a pair of costly miscues proved fatal as Bucsa sealed the game and the set.

With the win, Bucsa is on course to face either 19th-seeded Elise Mertens of Belgium or Lulu Sun of New Zealand in the next round.