Alex Eala has her sights set on even greater achievements after making history on Saturday by winning the US Open girls crown in New York.

The 17-year-old Eala stunned No. 2 seed Lucie Havlickova of the Czech Republic, 6-2, 6-4, in the finals at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. She is the first Filipino to win a grand slam singles championship.

"It feels amazing kasi ang dami talagang pinagdaanan, so much hardships," an emotional Eala told Dyan Castillejo of ABS-CBN News after the match. "It's really masaya."

• MATCH RECAP: Alex Eala reigns at US Open for first major junior girls' singles title

Eala previously won the girls' doubles titles at the 2020 Australian Open and 2021 French Open, but a grand slam singles crown has evaded her until today.

The 10th-seeded Eala had a sensational run in New York, winning the championship without dropping a single set. Along the way, she ousted Australian No. 8 seed Taylah Preston in the third round, and swept Russian No. 14 seed Mirra Andreeva in the quarterfinals, 6-4, 6-0, and Canadian No. 9 seed Victoria Mboko in the semifinals, 6-1, 7-6(5).

Filipina FIRE 🔥

🇵🇭 Alex Eala claims her first junior singles title without dropping a set!#USOpenpic.twitter.com/Uhks9GoqH3

— wta (@WTA) September 10, 2022

While she is thrilled with her latest feat, Eala also stresses that she is determined to keep rising.

"This is just everything I've worked for, and of course I'm going to work even more," Eala vowed. "This isn't the end, this isn't my end goal, but it's definitely a huge landmark in my journey."

The teenager also expressed her gratitude to the contingent of Filipino fans who came to watch her compete.

"It's amazing, it's absolutely amazing. I feel like I'm just at home. I love all the support and all the prayers from my community," she said.

On the professional level, Eala also made history last month when she became the highest ranked Filipino on the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Tour at World No. 280, surpassing the No. 284 rank that Maricris Fernandez-Gentz achieved in 1999.

Currently the World No. 297, Eala has been playing in professional tournaments since January with two ITF titles under her name: the 2021 W15 Manacor in Spain and 2022 W25 Chiang Rai in Thailand.

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