Rafael Nadal congratulates Alex Eala on winning Juniors US Open girls title

Rafael Nadal has congratulated Alex Eala on her US Open Juniors title win.

At the US Open on Saturday, Eala became the first junior player from the Philippines to win a Grand Slam title, drawing inspiration from her "idol" Nadal. In the title bout, the 17-year-old upset Czech Republic's Lucie Havlickova, the French Open girls' winner, 6-2, 6-4.

The Filipina took to social media to share her happiness with her followers.

"Speechless. I am so grateful. 2022 US Open Girls Champion," she captioned a post on Instagram.

Much to her delight and amazement, her idol Nadal commented on her post and heaped praise on her.

"Congrats on this great achievement and keep the good and hard work!!!! Vamos!" the Spaniard wrote.

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"I want to finish with something important in my life, which is having my first son"- Rafael Nadal after his US Open 4R exit

Following his fourth-round defeat at the US Open at the hands of Frances Tiafoe, Rafael Nadal stated that he is looking forward to returning home and reuniting with his wife for the birth of their first child, which is presently more essential to him.

"It's been a few months a little difficult in every way, this is the reality. And from there [I want to], start again professionally speaking and, on a personal level, finish with something that is important in my life, which is having my first son and trust that everything will turn out well," the former World No. 1 said.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion also insisted that he would not hide behind any excuses for his defeat.

"Well, we can make lamentations or we can complain now about a lot of things, but I don't think that going to change any situation, no? We can think, If I don't get injured. Maybe I win Wimbledon. Maybe I win another things on the past," he said, adding, "Or maybe I lost another things because I was not able to create this interior power after all that injuries, no?"

The 36-year-old added that he won't look for any justifications and berate himself so that he can get better the next time he takes on the court.

"We can't find excuses. We need to be enough critic with myself. That's the only way to improve or that's the only way that I understand you are able to find solutions," he stated.