Alexandra Eala, pushed by her flag-waving Filipino supporters, caught Clara Tauson at the finish line

NEW YORK—From an early age, whenever she was nervous, Alexandra Eala liked to say a prayer before a big point. Which one she chose depended on what had been working for her.

“If I won the point with Our Father, I’d say Our Father,” Eala told Tennis Channel’s Jon Wertheim. “If I won the point with Hail Mary, I’d say Hail Mary.

“If I lost the point, I had to switch to a different prayer.”

👉 WATCH: The Alexandra Eala interview, with Jon Wertheim

Clearly, not every invocation that the 20-year-old from the Philippines made during her epic opening-day win over No. 14 seed Clara Tauson on Sunday was successful. After winning the first set, and revving up her—already exceptionally loud—Filipino fan army in the Grandstand, she lost the second 6-2, trailed 1-5 in the third, and looked all but sure to make her exit.

The rookie’s level, as it had in many of her matches this season, swung wildly from one set to the next.

She began with a series of blazing winners—taken early, hit flat, and aimed fearlessly at the corners—that knocked Tauson back on her heels and thrilled her flag-waving supporters. When Eala is hot, no one on either tour produces winners with such a jaw-dropping mix of pace and precision. She spent the first set showing off the highly touted game that took her to the girls’ title on these courts in 2022, a win over Iga Swiatek in Miami in April, and the Eastbourne final in June.

But at 20, another, much-less-precise version of Eala still exists. This is the one who has often lost early in 2025, even in smaller events; who sails ground strokes 10 feet over the baseline; who hits her second serve 75 miles per hour; who struggles to track down drop shots; who wins a set 6-2, and then loses next two just as badly; who can look not quite ready for prime time. That’s the Eala who appeared in the second and third set, and who nearly lost the match.

So what did Eala say to herself when she was down 1-5 in the third? Was it an Our Father or a Hail Mary? What we do know is that, on the outside, she appealed to a different higher power: her fans. They had been quiet for most of the last two sets, and she hadn’t done much to get them involved. But after connecting on a few shots and holding at 1-5, she raised her fist and and looked out at the stands. Her fan club responded immediately.

When Eala is hot, no one on either tour produces winners with such a jaw-dropping mix of pace and precision.

“Definitely hard to see the positives when, you know, you’re down 5-1, but that’s what I tried to do,” Eala said. “I tried to see the positives, find solutions. And obviously, you know, with all these people backing me up, it’s hard not to stay in the moment and get their energy.”

The energy that Eala took seemed to be siphoned directly from Tauson. From the start, the Dane had been rattled by the intensity of the fans. She complained about noise during points, she complained that Eala kept clipping the outside of the lines, and she unraveled completely in the first set.

“She’s not exuding positive vibes,” one commentator said of Tauson, in the day’s most notable understatement.

Tauson settled down in the second set. But the frustration came flooding back as Eala and her army re-engaged in the third. Serving for the match at 5-2, Tauson double faulted to go down break point, then watched Eala blister a return past her. Serving at 5-4, she double faulted twice more and was broken again. Every errant swing of Tauson’s was greeted with something close to a standing ovation.

But credit Tauson for settling down again and holding at 5-6. With the two women raising their games and trading baseline rockets, the match tiebreaker was drama from start to finish. Eala went up 8-4; Tauson leveled at 8-8. Eala reached match point four times; Tauson saved them all.

Finally, at 11-11, Eala hit another backhand winner that skidded off the baseline, and finished with a full-cut forehand that Tauson couldn’t handle.

As Tauson’s final shot floated long, Eala fell to the court and the crowd went delirious. Which may be more understandable when you realize that this was the first time in the Open Era that a player from the Philippines had won a match at a major.

“To be Filipino is something I take so much pride in,” Eala said. “I don’t have a home tournament, so to be able to have this community here at the US Open, I’m so grateful that they made me feel like I’m home.”

👉 WATCH: The Alexandra Eala interview, with Jon Wertheim

“I’m super over the moon with what I was able to do today,” she said later. “I think everything in general just made the atmosphere so, so exciting, but at the same time, so tense.”

In the end, we can only guess that Eala’s system of praying—stick with what’s working—came through for her on the final two points.