The Green Keeper

ARAAAY!,!

TENNIS 101

At the Majors, IF the seeds are all able to get past the second round:

Seeds 1-8 are drawn against seeds 25-32
Seeds 9-16 are drawn against seeds 17-24.

As the #17 seed, Alexandra Eala could meet any of the following players in round 3.

If it were up to me, I would prefer it to be anyone among Svitolina, Kostyuk, Shnaider or Cirstea. The other four at the US Open will be a very difficult task.

Isang title pa lang si pero yung napikon sakin na bandwagon fans nya sindami na ng match wins ni Djokovic. 😂😂😂

I am curious why Dimitrov chose to play the qualifying rounds when he could have applied for Protected Ranking.

TENNIS 101

All 128 main draw entrants at the US Open get this same amount when they become part of the main draw. As they progress, the amount gets bigger.

This field of 128 players on each tour include; the 32 Seeds, 16 Qualifiers, 8 Wild Cards, and 72 other main draw entrants which may include those with Protected Ranking status. Lucky Losers may be given to those who lose in the qualifying rounds when one or more qualifiers withdraw.

It should be noted that because the Majors are independent entities, the prize money differ in each major.

(Graphic not mine.]

ANDRE “AMERICAN NGANI” ILAGAN won his first qualifying match at the US Open with the scoreline 6-4 3-6 6-4. He will be facing 3rd seed and former #58 Hugo Gaston in the second qualifying rounds.

It is important to note that Ilagan is an American with Filipino roots, so naturally, he is representing America. Those who do not care about him need not announce it, this page is not your personal PSA.

Eala fanatics: Yang mga dugong Pinoy na lumaki sa US at Canada slang, si Alex hindi.
Me: NATURAAAL!!! 🤬🥴😂

WHOEVER STARTED THE IDEA THAT LEYLAH FERNANDEZ “DENIED” HER FILIPINO ROOTS IS DUMB…

And those who believed it, EVEN DUMBER.

Everything is documented on the internet since the 2000s. I am not even a Leylah fan, but I feel that somehow I can dispel the myth.

This was an article published by Rappler on September 10, 2021, before there were even whispers of an Alexandra Eala, who would burst into the tennis scene in Miami 2025, so any insinuations that Leylah and her family are somehow riding on the current wave of Filipino tennis fans is debunked.

She has always recognized her Filipino roots, even using the flags of Canada, Ecuador and the Philippines on her socials bio.

After her run to the finals at the US Open 2021, she immediately went to the Philippine Consulate in New York, where I presume she inquired as to how she could thank the Filipino community in the city through the help of the Consulate.

That visit was turned into a formality at last year’s US Open, through the efforts of another Filipino-American assemblyman and the Philippine Consulate.

The recognition bestowed by the Filipino community was first and foremost not initiated by Leylah and her family, so insinuations that she only recognized her Filipino heritage because she somehow wants a pie of Alex’s popularity is absurd.

Like I always say, to those who dismiss her outright, or say “Sinara nya ang pinto sa mga Pilipino,” or to those who claim she rejected having Filipino roots, you all are DUMB. Look it up, before making any claim.

https://www.rappler.com/sports/leylah-fernandez-happy-filipinos-rooting-for-her-us-open-2021/

US Open finals-bound Leylah Fernandez ‘happy to hear’ Filipino fans rooting for her 'I'm so, so happy to hear that everyone in the Philippines is cheering for me and supporting me,' says Leylah Fernandez as she vies for her first Grand Slam title

ONLI IN DA PILIPINS

(EDIT: Leylah Fernandez proudly mentioned her Filipino roots even earlier than US Ooen 2021, shown in an article published on June 12, 2019 when she won the French Open Girls. I hope this provides some people the FREEDOM they need from misinformation regarding the matter.)

https://www.philstar.com/sports/2019/06/12/1925807/filipino-ecuadorian-teenager-conquers-roland-garros

Help me understand this mindset.

I have read so many comments about LEYLAH FERNANDEZ, and recently ANDRE ILAGAN, that somehow they do not deserve Filipino support because they do not represent the Philippines.

I have called out so many comments that confuse genetic heritage and citizenship, which, needless to say, are two very different things. Someone, around the event in Stuttgart or Linz, repetitively responded to my post and comments that “Leylah Fernandez is Canadian...” when clearly, the post says Filipino-Canadian, which basically means “a Canadian citizen with Filipino roots.” I keep getting the same reactions now on a post about Andre Ilagan, a Filipino-American.

REGARDING SUPPORT

First off, these players never specifically asked for Filipino support. Andre Ilagan, born and raised in Hawaii, may not even be aware that Filipino sports pages and news outlets have featured his Wild Card entry into the qualifying rounds of the US Open. Leylah Fernandez for her part, was thankful enough for the tremendous support from Filipinos when she made the US Open final in 2021, that she arranged for a meet-up with the Philippine Consulate in New York to personally thank them and the Filipino community in the city. She would also often be asked about her Filipino roots in interviews, and would mention lumpia and adobo as her favorite Filipino food in the context of her Filipina mother’s support during her younger years while training for tennis.

Second, they do not require Filipino support. Their tennis were honed in their countries of citizenship, and whatever support they get now from Filipinos will be sheer bonus and would be appreciated. They are not begging for it though.

Third, this Filipino-centric, Jelly-mold mindset is sickeningly absurd. These same people who are unwilling to support players who have Filipino blood but represent another country, are the same people who are giddily eager to support players like Donna Vekic, a total stranger from a completely unrelated race - WHY? And as 99.99% of tennis fans are Big 3 fans, these people would support one of the Big 3 but not their own blood? Again, WHY? It is fine to hold criticism on some players, but to be completely dismissive of foreign players with Filipino blood is beyond comprehension.

REGARDING CITIZENSHIP

Players like Leylah and Andre did not “unchoose” to represent the Philippines. They are not Filipino citizens, and they have every right to represent their country. At the same time, they, or anyone who bothers to write about them, maintain the right to mention their Filipino roots as it is part of their genetics. Having one kind of genetics while possessing another citizenship is neither a crime nor a sin, it is not even in the general spectrum of having a citizenship identity crisis. One thing is simply not the same as the other.

Filipinos are possibly the only race in the world with this kind of overzealous, selective, and ultranationalistic pride. They won’t support their own blood, but they would be willing to queue for hours under the excruciating Manila heat, just to get an autograph or a selfie with Donna Vekic, even if it means they might end up with getting just a short glimpse. It is ludicrous and ironic.

I have never heard of any Greek complain about Kyrgios or Kokkinakis not representing Greece like Tsitsipas does. Or of Austrians complaining about Sinner’s representation of Italy. Or of any other nationality complaining about the multitude of foreign names in the roster of American players who do not represent their countries of genetic origin - except Filipinos.

IS IT PINOY CULTURE?

I refuse to think this is cultural.

The opinions about these foreign players with Filipino blood, while numerous, have been sporadic. I think there are Filipinos who simply think so inward that their brains have folded unto themselves, thinking national pride is somehow required from everyone who carries our blood.

I suspect fame and success is a factor.

If Andre Ilagan is ranked higher or had more titles in the Challenger circuit, Filipino fans would take notice. There was a time Treat Huey, an American, played in the professional tour and had respectable results in doubles, and carried the Philippine flag, but never caught the attention of Filipinos. If he had bigger titles, like the Bryan brothers, maybe Filipinos would have noticed. If Leylah Fernandez had won the US Open against Emma Raducanu, I am sure Filipinos would have their cameras and throats ready for a potential “homecoming.” It is typical collective behavior of Filipinos to adopt foreigns with the slightest hint of Filipino blood - just look at the throng of musicians and beauty queens we have called our own despite holding foreign passports - they simply have to be famous or successful enough.

It serves as a stern warning for young prospects like John Villamin, whose technique at just 14 is already impeccable: if he wants the support of the ordinary Filipino tennis fans, get as popular as Bouchard, or get really good results.

They are not the worst kind of Filipino tennis fans though. There are much, much worse.

The US OPEN is the only major where NONE of the BIG 3 holds the all-time record in title haul.

It has been a century since someone won the US Open 7 times.

Even Roger Federer who won it 5 consecutive times could not win more for some reason, and had to settle on a three-way tie with Connors and Sampras. The two reasons for the screeching halt on his era of dominance are in the picture.