Former Pinoy junior champion Dante Santa Cruz. Dyan Castillejo, ABS-CBN News
Dante Santa Cruz is a Filipino tennis director at Town Tennis Club in Midtown Manhattan, an exclusive 125-member outdoor club on the east side of the city.
He spent more than two decades building his life in New York through sheer persistence by starting in the kitchen, sleeping in a storage room, and teaching tennis 10 hours a day.
Today, his clients have included big names such as Jimmy Connors and Bill Gates. He was also seen practicing with the Williams sisters in an old episode of their reality show.
And like the rest of the Filipino community in New York, he has been watching Alex Eala very closely.
"I watched Alex, and I thought she was very composed," Santa Cruz said.
Santa Cruz said he was struck by how Eala adapted when she faced an opponent who began moonballing in her games.
"Alex, parang she's sticking to her game. Perfect strategy. Execution ‘yan," he said. "She knew the player was going to hit a moonball. She was not going to go back. She was going to go in and hit it."
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Asked what has changed most about Eala compared to last year, Santa Cruz pointed to one thing above all else.
"She's a different player now. Yung confidence niya. I'm sure that's a big factor. She's just different right now," he said. "Ang focused niya, sobrang focused. I think she has that ability to just shut everything off. Like, it's just me and my tennis racket and tennis ball."
On her serve that’s often cited as a weakness, Santa Cruz had a more nuanced read.
"Yung serve niya is not easy to return. Because of the spin. Everyone's so used to fast, always fast. She's doing the opposite. She's doing less, but more of the spin," he said. "It's very strategic. She's using that to her advantage. And as a lefty, that's not easy to return. Mahirap i-return yung spin na yan."
He believes that with continued improvement on her serve, there is no ceiling to what Eala can achieve.
"At this point, yes, she can beat anyone. Top 10 players, ilan na yung tinatalo niya? Halos lahat na. We're just waiting for Sabalenka na," he said with a laugh.
On a possible Grand Slam title, Santa Cruz echoed what many tennis observers have said.
"Yes, there is a good chance. If anything, it would be US Open or Wimbledon. Hard court or grass court. Her game is really meant for those surfaces."
Working in the heart of New York's tennis scene, Santa Cruz said Eala's rise has changed the conversation at his club entirely.
"Everybody's like, 'Dante, have you heard of that girl, Alex?' I say, yes, of course! I don't know her, but I know the father," he said. "It's so inspiring. It's changing the tennis environment. Finally, we have a Filipina that really represents the sport. Maybe, just like Manny Pacquiao but in tennis."
He was also quick to remind people that the results they see today are the product of years of sacrifice that happen away from the cameras.
"What people don't see is kung saan nanggaling si Alex Eala. Ang nakikita lang nila yung result. But yung pinagdaanan… ang daming sacrifices na ginawa nila, including the family. Kudos to the parents."
Santa Cruz's own journey to where he is today is no less remarkable. A former Philippine No. 1 junior who competed at the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open in the mid-90s and played for the Southeast Asian Games, he arrived in New York after shifting from economics at UP to a tennis scholarship at Southern Illinois University.
When he reached out to fellow Filipino Rod Rafael at Town Tennis in 2002, there were no teaching openings so he took the job in the kitchen.
"I said, you know what, I worked at a kitchen before. Can I just start there?" he recalled. "That's how I started — in the kitchen for one month. And then came my first opening lesson, I said, I'll take it."
"I had nothing. You can't afford anything. So I would just crash [at this storage room]," he said. "If you really want to make it, you have to just do anything just to survive especially in New York."
And now for the past six years, he was named tennis director.
As for what comes next in his own family, Santa Cruz recently became a father and already has a racket waiting for his baby girl.
"I have a racket for her, yes," he said.