Day or night, Alex Eala keeps making quick work of her US Open opponents.
The No. 17 seed dispatched Ukraine’s Oleksandra Oliynykova, 6-1, 6-4, in just 1 hour, 4 minutes on Thursday (Friday, September 4, 2026, Philippine time) at Louis Armstrong Stadium to reach the third round of the US Open for the first time.
Eala, who dropped only three games in her opening-round victory under the lights Tuesday, again controlled the match with a composed performance that earned her a measure of redemption.
Oliynykova beat Eala in a three-set match at the Internationaux de Strasbourg in May after Eala took the opening set. This time, the Filipina never let the Ukrainian find her footing.
“My patience and consistency of my focus, I think that was the key to winning the match today,” Eala said afterward.
Eala backed up those words with steady play. She hit 19 winners against 17 unforced errors and handled Oliynykova’s mix of pace, spin and looping shots.
She also weathered a tougher second set, breaking serve twice while saving herself from several momentum swings. Eala won five of the Ukrainian’s service games overall.
Eala set the tone immediately, winning the first nine points of the match. She raced to a 4-0 lead before Oliynykova got on the board, then broke back immediately and closed out the opening set with a love hold.
The second set was more competitive. Oliynykova briefly took a 2-1 lead before Eala leveled the set. Eala broke for a 3-2 advantage, but Oliynykova answered with a break of her own.
Eala then broke again to move ahead 4-3 and held to love for a 5-3 lead. Oliynykova saved herself with another hold, but Eala served out the match, sealing it when her opponent sent a forehand return wide.
The victory sends Eala into a third-round meeting with No. 14 seed Iva Jovic of the United States, one of her friends on tour.
The two recently shared the court during the US Open’s “Stars of the Open” exhibition event during qualifying week. Jovic won their one-set exhibition match, but both players said the experience of stepping onto Arthur Ashe Stadium together marked a special moment.
The competitive history between them, however, favors Jovic. She beat Eala, 6-4, 6-2, in the first round of the French Open in May and followed that with a 6-2, 6-2 victory in the second round at Queen’s Club in June.
Jovic, 18, said she is “super excited” to face Eala again, this time on a hard court. WTA/FROM THE WIRES
