Before meeting at the second round of the US Open, Alex Eala and Cristina Bucsa crossed paths four years ago in France.
Alex Eala will be meeting a familiar face in world no. 95 Cristina Bucsa in the second round of the US Open, previously facing the Spanish hitter in a lower-ranked tournament some four years ago.
Eala, 20, first encountered Bucsa in February 2021 when they locked horns in the Round of 16 of the W25 Grenoble tournament in France.
Bucsa was seeded 7th in the tournament while then-rising star Eala was unseeded in the competition.
[READ: World no. 95 Cristina Bucsa arranges clash with Alex Eala in US Open second round]
Despite going up against a favored opponent, Eala was able to buck a slow start and defeated Bucsa in three sets, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(10-8), to march on to the quarterfinals, where she would end her campaign in Grenoble.
At the time, Eala was only 15 years old.
Now years older and with more experience, Eala holds the advantage on rankings against Bucsa, 20 spots higher than her opponent at world no. 75.
However, Bucsa has a penchant to score upsets, much like Eala. Bucsa has also been able to pull off some surprises this year — including a win over former US Open champion Emma Raducanu.
Playing on her favorite surface, Eala will be tasked to hurdle another challenge as she looks to build upon her milestone Grand Slam win.
The Alex Eala-Cristina Bucsa matchup at the US Open is pegged for Wednesday (PH time).