Arya News - Eala, playing in the first tournament of her North American hard-court swing, came alive late in the second set to force a decider before racing to a 4-0 lead in the third to seize control of the match.
MANILA – Alex Eala scored a 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 comeback victory over Zheng Qinwen of China to advance to the Round of 16 of the Mubadala DC Open.
Eala, playing in the first tournament of her North American hard-court swing, came alive late in the second set to force a decider before racing to a 4-0 lead in the third to seize control of the match.
Zheng, the former world No. 4, broke serve to get on the board in the deciding set, but Eala answered with a break of her own before serving out the match.
Eala faces Filipino-Canadian Leylah Fernandez, the defending champion of the WTA 500 event and the seventh seed this year, in the second round.
The Filipino world No. 28 powered through after trailing 4-3 in the second set. She reeled off three straight games, including two breaks of serve, to take the match into a decider.
“[My coach] said that I have to keep going because if I’m there every ball, I’ll have my chances. And I did. Like always, he’s right,” Eala said of her comeback.
Eala recovered after squandering an early lead in the opening set, where she broke for a 2-0 advantage. Zheng rallied to tie the set at 2-2 before Eala regained the lead at 3-2. But Zheng answered by winning three straight games to move ahead 5-3 before closing out the set.
Eala also struck first in the second, taking a 3-2 lead before Zheng won back-to-back games to go in front for the last time.
The Chinese star, who has fallen out of the Top 100 after dealing with an elbow injury, managed just one more game the rest of the way.
It was the first meeting between the two on the WTA Tour, but their second overall after their semifinal clash at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, where Zheng prevailed.
Eala also acknowledged the sizeable and enthusiastic Filipino crowd that came to watch her Washington, DC debut.
“I think the community here in DC is amazing. I think there was a great atmosphere for both players, and I’m really happy with my win today,” Eala said.