"There were times when you’re dreaming and you’re a little kid, you don’t know if you’re actually going to do it": Alexandra Eala finds importance in living in the moment amid new found fame

Alexandra Eala has begun her US Open campaign in style defeating Mary Stoiana in two sets in the first round on Tuesday.

Eala as expected got top court billing having been under the spotlight in recent months. But the 21-year-old showed no nerves in a 6-1, 6-2 victory. Her 23-year-old is a career high of 113, but was thrust into the spotlight on Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Eala's serve has been scrutinised during her rise for the fact that she is put on such a high pedestal. But she was able to win 28 out of her 44 first serves during the night session.

She faces Oleksandra Oliynykova, a player she lost to in Strasbourg, but now she feels different pressure. "It felt different, definitely. But not to say that one is more challenging than the other. It’s just different circumstances. It was my first time playing one of the main stadiums here in the US Open and it was very loud.

"And especially when the roof is covered. So that’s something that adds to the atmosphere, but it’s also something you have to navigate. Coming in as a seeded player and having done pretty good, I would say this American swing, it brings a different vibe. Of course, you’re a little more confident. There’s a little more expectations, but I think I handled it."

"Well, there were nerves for sure. And I’m not really sure if I can pinpoint where they came from, if it’s from the noise, if it’s from the first round of a Slam, but I think with experience, my goal is to tune it out. And I’ve had experience with big crowds, especially in the past year.

"And I think I’ve been navigating quite well within myself to keep the focus and focus on what I need to pay attention to and points A, B, and C. And in the end, when you get into the groove, get into the rhythm, we play tennis and a match is a match, whether I think there are so many people or none. So I think once the players get into that groove, the effect of external factors lessen a little bit."

Discussing expectations from the tournament, she feels prepared to make that leap and make that next step. "What I want from this tournament, I think I’ve prepared quite well leading up to it. My team’s put in the work, I’ve put in the work. So to have more matches with the level that I see I can produce, and I’ve been producing these past couple of weeks, I think today was a good first match. I was able to execute a lot of the points, be aggressive, play my game. So continuing that trajectory."

She discussed that clash with Oleksandra Oliynykova in round two - a player she lost to earlier in the season and she said that it was one that certainly changed her mindset.

"Yes, it was a really good match. Very intense, quite tight. I think looking back at that match, there are a lot of things that I could have done better.

"And I think I’ve been working on since then, it’s been a couple months. I think I’ve developed a lot in said months. All I can do is come into that match with the same mindset as today, the same mindset, or even better than the mindset I’ve been having these past couple of weeks, and try to do my best."

But she also touched upon enjoying her life and living amid her new life of being a top tennis star and said that dreaming as a kid of it happening to now it actually being the case is a wild dream come true.

"I don’t know. I think being a professional tennis player and being in this very professional environment to a very competitive environment and being surrounded by so many amazing, intelligent and charismatic women and people.

"I guess I’ve just learned from my surroundings. I’ve absorbed knowledge. I’m constantly trying to be a better person, a more intelligent, more aware person. And to just be the best version of myself. I don’t think my tennis would be as good as it is now if I wasn’t the person that I am off the court and I wasn’t as open-minded or eager to learn. So I think those two go hand in hand."

"I’m still so young, so I have so much to learn when it comes to managing… there’s so much I feel I’m going to experience and so many challenges I’ve yet to encounter. But right now, I think with the success I’ve been having this past year and my improvement coming quite rapidly. It feels like just yesterday that I was dreaming to be on Armstrong, for example, or dreaming to play against the players that I’ve been playing against.

"Let’s say, in a match like this in the morning, I was nervous. It’s the first round of a Slam and I’m coming in seeded. It’s a little different because I’ve been doing well recently.

"I just think it would be such a shame if I didn’t do my best to enjoy. There are so many people who are showing love for me and for all the other players and I’m playing on Armstrong. There were times when you’re dreaming and you’re a little kid, you don’t know if you’re actually going to do it, right? Of course, you say, ‘I can, I can, I can’. But whether you actually do is a different thing. And now I’m here. So it would be a big shame if I didn’t enjoy what I had."