ALEX Eala staged a stirring comeback from a set down to finally get her revenge on Zheng Qinwen, hacking out a 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory in the opening round of the WTA 500 Mubadala DC Open early Wednesday morning, Manila time.
The Filipina world No. 28 erased memories of her loss to Zheng in the 2023 Asian Games semifinals, where the Chinese star went on to win the gold medal. Zheng is also a former world No. 4 and the reigning Olympic champion.
Eala advanced to the Round of 16, where she will take on Canada's Leylah Fernandez, whose mother is Filipina.
The DC Open marks Eala's first tournament since her impressive grass-court campaign, highlighted by a historic run to the Wimbledon Round of 16.
In the two- hour, 26-minute game, Eala, who was seen with a bandage on her left arm, found herself on the brink after dropping the opening set and slipping into a tense deadlock in the second, but the Filipina seized control when it mattered most.
Locked at 4-4, she held serve before breaking Zheng to force a decider, where she completely flipped the match on its head by racing to a dominant 4-0 lead limiting the Chinese star to eventually seal the win.
DC Open also serves as Eala's jumpstart to a packed North American hard-court swing leading to the year's final slam in the 2026 US Open.
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