‘I’ve already had that in me’: Eala’s grit leads her past Zheng in Washington
WASHINGTON — Alexandra Eala’s Washington debut required another comeback.
Down a set and a break, the World No. 28 defeated wild card Zheng Qinwen 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the first round of the Mubadala Citi DC Open. Eala will face reigning champion Leylah Fernandez in the second round after Fernandez defeated Magda Linette in straight sets Monday.
At 4-3 in the second set, Zheng broke Eala at love to move within two games of victory. The former World No. 4, now ranked No. 123 on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz, had controlled much of the match after taking the opening set.
Eala broke back at love, then won the next six games to complete a seven-game run that carried her to the second set and a 4-0 lead in the decider.
“I definitely think it helped,” Eala said of the break. “Maybe if I hadn’t gotten that break, who knows? Maybe it would have been too big of a gap. You never know in tennis, but that definitely helped me I think.”
Zheng briefly halted the momentum with a break of serve, but Eala responded immediately, breaking back to close out the match. Though it was their first meeting on the WTA Tour, Eala’s victory leveled their overall head-to-head at 1-1 after Zheng won a three-hour thriller at the 2023 Asian Games.
Eala said she’s always believed she had that quality within her. The difference now, she said, is experience. The more three-set matches she’s played against top opponents, the more comfortable she’s become handling those moments.
“I think I’ve already had that in me,” Eala said to press Tuesday. “I think it’s definitely a mindset that you have. That being said, I think it’s been trained or I’ve practiced. I’ve had more experience now to implement that mindset at the higher level.
“That just comes also with the level of my tennis getting higher because you always want to win, and you always want to fight. But I think now with the progress I’ve had this past year, I have a bit more of ammunition to back it up.”
‘It’s not an exaggeration. That’s actually what they tell me.’
Tournament chairman Mark Ein told the media Tuesday that in the spring a huge effort was to bring Eala to Washington. The demand was certainly there, as within the last month, when Eala’s first-time participation was confirmed, the ticketing team had received the same inquiry one after another.
“I will say, over the last month the ticketing team says at least 80%, if not more, of the requests in this tournament are about when is Alex Eala playing?,” Ein said. “Honestly, I think it’s more, and they just didn’t want to say it was more, but they’re, like, virtually all. It’s not an exaggeration. That’s actually what they tell me.
“When you look at the amazing players here and how many great stars there are, it says something about Alex’s following. Obviously she’s been an icon, become an icon in the Philippines, but worldwide. So there’s obviously Filipinos everywhere.
“I will say, earlier this year in the early spring our team said, this is a phenomenon that’s spreading, and we should try to get Alex to come to Washington. Having her here is honestly one of the really great things that’s already happened this year.”
While it wasn’t a sold-out crowd Tuesday afternoon in Stadium Court, it was by a far pro-Eala fan base with Filipina flags seen here and there. Eala’s now guaranteed one more match in the United States capital, and she’ll have a chance to avenge a straight-sets defeat to Fernandez in Stuttgart earlier this year.
“This is my first time competing in D.C,” Eala added. “I knew there was a Filipino community. Most of these places I’m not really sure what to expect at this point, but I was pleasantly surprised. I think there was a great atmosphere on court today, very electric.”