Day of feats at the US Open with victories by Eala and Tjen in the women's draw

© AFP

Jules Hypolite

le 24/08/2025 à 22h46

2 min to read

Danilovic Eala Kudermetova Raducanu Tauson Tjen Uchijima US Open

The first day of the US Open has already seen its share of surprises in the women's draw.

A member of the top 100 since her semifinal in Miami in March, Alexandra Eala confirmed a few months later with a final on the grass at Eastbourne, but she had not yet opened her account in a Grand Slam. That is now done thanks to a stunning victory against Clara Tauson, world number 14.

The player from the Philippines was trailing 5-1 in the third set before staging a spectacular comeback. She prevailed against the Dane (6-3, 2-6, 7-6), a semifinalist in Montreal in early August, with a score of 13-11 in the super tie-break and after five match points.

Deeply moved and strongly encouraged by the crowd, Eala became the first player from her country to win a match in a Grand Slam main draw and will continue her adventure against Cristina Bucsa or Claire Liu.

Although a bit less publicized, Janice Tjen, world number 149 and coming from the qualifiers, also made a name for herself by defeating Veronika Kudermetova (6-4, 4-6, 6-4), a semifinalist in Cincinnati just a week ago.

The Indonesian player had never before won a match on the WTA tour but has collected 13 titles on the ITF circuit over the past 15 months. She will play for a spot in the third round against Emma Raducanu, the tournament winner in 2021.

Also noteworthy is the stunning victory of Moyuka Uchijima (92nd) over Olga Danilovic (7-6, 4-6, 7-6).

The Japanese player, who had suffered 10 consecutive defeats since May, saved seven match points in the final set (3 at 3-5, 0-40, 3 more at 5-6, 0-40, and one last at 8-9 in the super tie-break) to continue her journey in New York.