By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Alex Eala overcame a first-set hiccup and turned back Chinese wildcard Zheng Qinwen, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, to launch her campaign in grand fashion at the Mubadala DC Open in Washington D.C., United States early Wednesday, July 29 (Philippine time).
The unseeded Filipina dropped the opening set but survived the long rallies to wrest control of the second frame before dominating the decider to get back at Hangzhou Asian Games tormentor.
The vengeful win arranged the world No. 28 a second-round meeting with a familiar rival in seventh seed Leylah Fernandez, a Canadian of Filipino descent, who clobbered Magda Linette, 6-1, 6-4.
This would be the second time that Eala is meeting Fernandez, a 2021 US Open finalist after first seeing action in the Round of 32 of the Stuttgart Open last April where the Canadian won in straight sets.
Playing her first tournament of the North American hard-court swing, Eala matched Zheng’s powerful serves with sharp service games of her own to stay within striking distance in the opening set.
However, the Chinese world No. 123, who was once ranked as high as No. 4, broke a 3-all deadlock to seize the momentum, winning three of the final four games to take the first set.
Eala weathered a tightly contested second set after Zheng grabbed the first break to lead 4-3. The Filipina responded immediately with a break of her own to level the score at 4-all, before reeling off the next two games to force a deciding third set.
Riding the momentum, Eala took complete control in the deciding set, racing to a 4-0 lead before Zheng finally got on the board in the fifth game. The Filipina never looked back, closing out the match in emphatic fashion.
