MANILA — Alexandra “Alex” Eala scored another career-defining victory on the WTA Tour, dethroning defending champion Leylah Fernandez of Canada, 6-2, 7-6, to storm into the quarterfinals of the Mubadala DC Open on Wednesday night (Thursday in the Philippines) in Washington, D.C.
Fresh from her stunning first-round upset of Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, the 21-year-old Filipina sustained her remarkable form by eliminating last year’s champion in straight sets, extending her breakthrough campaign in one of the biggest tournaments of her career.
Eala dictated the pace early, overpowering Fernandez with an aggressive all-around game to capture the opening set.
The Canadian-Filipino mounted a fierce comeback in the second set, racing to a 5-1 advantage, but Eala responded with five straight games to seize a 6-5 lead before Fernandez forced a tiebreak.
Showing composure beyond her years, Eala dominated the tiebreak to seal the victory and advance to the last eight.
“I think I had definitely some tough moments in that match and credits to Leila. She put me in some really tough position,” Eala said in the post-match interview. “So, I think I’m super proud of how I fought, and how I stayed in there.”
Although she did not produce an ace, Eala capitalized on her chances by converting four of nine break points while winning 79 total points compared to Fernandez’s 61.
The Filipina also excelled on serve, winning 67 percent of her first-serve points and 65 percent of her second-serve points.
“I know that she was playing a little better and maybe I had my level dropped a little bit. I think those are very tricky moments when you know your level’s dropped, and you want to do better, but things just, for one reason or another, aren’t coming out,” Eala added.
“I think patience was key there, and just trying to work it out, and have a strong mentality in terms of trying to find solutions,” added the Victorias City, Negros Occidental native.
With the victory, Eala advances to the quarterfinals, where she will face the winner of the match between Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina and Russia’s Polina Kudermetova as she continues her bid for the biggest WTA title of her career./PN
