THE long queue for seats on Court One attracted not a few quizzical looks from tennis fans heading to the adjacent Centre Court, where two experienced pros were trading heavy groundstrokes.
It was a scene perhaps rarely seen at the Victoria Park Tennis Centre in Hong Kong's biggest tennis tournament, enthusiastic Filipino fans coming in droves for an opening doubles match in a court that can seat only about 300, giving the contest the sheen of a Sunday final.
But this was only the opening day, the so-called 'People's Monday,' and while admission was free as a matter of tradition, the beeline to Court One by a throng completely oblivious to the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open headliners just a few steps away made quite a sight.
READ Alex Eala begins HK Open at a career-best No. 51 in WTA rankings
They all came to see Alex Eala in action, of course. It didn't matter if it was in doubles or singles, where she was to face British star Katie Boulter on Centre Court a day later. Heck, most would give their shirt for a sight of the fresh-faced poster girl of Philippine tennis in a practice session.
Even the locals were impressed.
“I've never seen a line this big, it's very impressive,” said Mr. Wong, looking at the snaking queue below from his seat at the Centre Court stands. “I've been to this type of events every year, I've never seen a line his long for Court One.”
One of the young fans who came to see Eala was Natsurita Melendres, a schoolgirl from Paranaque. Her family of five, including a toddler, were on holiday in Hong Kong but decided to take a break from their sightseeing for the chance to watch Eala play.
The gates to the tennis complex did not open until around 1 p.m. but Natsurita and her family were already at the venue two hours early, hoping to catch a glimpse of their hero. Eala was not around yet, her match was only the third scheduled on Court One, but the Melendres family saw Eala's dad and got him to sign autographs and pose for photos with them.
“We're blessed na mapapanood namin siya ngayon,” Natsurita's dad said.
Long-time Hong Kong resident Dewey Mosqueda, a former top-10 player in the Philippines who now coaches youngsters here, was just as excited to watch Eala. A contemporary of Davis Cup players Bong Battad, Manny Tolentino, Rod Rafael and Raymond Suarez in the 1980s, Mosqueda knows talent when he sees one. He believed he caught sight of that some years back.
“Last time pinanood ko siya yung ITF tournament nya, 14-under. Second time ko papanoorin ngayon,” Mosqueda said of Eala.
“May potential talaga, magaling,” he recalled. “Ngayon iba na ang level niya. Puwede na tayong lumaban dyan sa kahit sino. Pang-world class, iba na talaga ang laban niya.”
Mosqueda was in a group of 30 people, some of them coaches too. To them, Eala's success is their success, too.
“Happing-hapi talaga, isa pang magiging source ng pride namin sa mga estudyante namin. May kapwa Pilipino namin na umabot sa ganung level,” he said.
If Eala were to scan the faces in Monday's crowd, she may have found herself looking at flashbacks of her career. For they included people who had seen the Filipina world-beater when she was much younger.
Jojo Santiago and his wife Jackie, along with their Davao-based friend Jack Sandique, recalled the times they'd see Eala hitting balls at Valle Verde Country Club in Pasig.
“We used to see her play. She was around 10, and she was really good then,” Santiago said.
The last time they saw her was probably before Eala packed her bags for Spain to join Rafael Nadal's Tennis Academy.
Having resided in Hong Kong before, Sandique said they used to watch the annual Salem Open in the early 90s. That tournament had featured a list that reads like a who's who in tennis until it was discontinued. But there's a different feeling to seeing one of your own competing against the best, he said.
One of a kind
And so the Santiagos and the Sandiques, along with more than a dozen friends from Valle Verde, are returning to Victoria Park on Tuesday night, with flags in hand, this time as paying spectators for Eala's singles clash against Boulter on Centre Court in the last match of the day's program.
And by the way, Eala and her partner, Taiwan's Chan Hao-ching, went on to lose a marathon three-setter to Russian Kamilla Rakhimova and Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich 3-6, 6-1, 10-7.
The match ended under the lights, with fans standing rows deep after tournament officials, by some organizational magic, had managed to find space for them.
In the end the result did not matter. Rather than feelings of disappointment, the fans left knowing they had a good time. The intimate surroundings of a Court One doubles battle somehow made it a fun experience.
The star of the moment knew this too. Although by now Eala must be used to seeing excited Filipino crowds every place she goes to compete in, she acknowledged the fans who are making Hong Kong her 'home court.'
“I'm so happy that the crowd was there, and I think it influenced the atmosphere a lot, and it pumped us up at certain points,” she would say later.
“Maraming, maraming salamat. Alam ko maraming nagbiyahe mula sa Pilipinas, sana magkita-kita tayo bukas.”
Eala added: “For me it's such a pleasure to be able to experience this kind of atmosphere. I just try to enjoy every moment, it's not everyday that you feel this atmosphere. I really enjoyed it.”
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