FROM Day 1, para sa bayan has been the battle cry for Alex Eala.
But before carrying the weight of representing the Philippines and its Filipinos, the 21 year old knows she's first and foremost accountable to herself.
Eala is fresh off dethroning erstwhile Mubadala DC Open champion Leylah Fernandez, 6-2, 7-5, to punch her ticket to the quarterfinals and move within three wins of her first WTA Tour-level title.
READ: Alex Eala charges into DC Open QFs after besting Leylah Fernandez
Prior to that, she powered past Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng to officially kickstart her North American hard court swing.
Yet again, the Filipino crowd in Washington showed up, creating what felt like another home atmosphere for the Filipina star.
But Eala has never viewed the all-out support from her passionate and ever-growing fanbase as pressure.
If anything, the expectations she carries have always come from within.
"There's definitely pressure because I'm a competitive athlete, but the obligation comes [down] to myself. I'm a very self-demanding person, and a very ambitious person," she said in one of her post-match interviews with Tennis Channel.
"I'm definitely happy and welcoming to everyone who wants to support me as well and go along, but I know that this is my journey first and foremost."
That self-belief has long been her greatest weapon on court - and she wielded it to great effect in her last match.
Down 1-5 in the second set against Fernandez, Eala could have easily let the match slip into a decider. Instead, she stayed patient, clawed her way back to 5-5, then regained control in the tiebreak to close out the contest in straight sets.
In the end, it was timely payback for their first meeting in April when the pride of the Philippines lost.
For Eala, the key was trusting herself long enough to find answers.
"I know that she was playing a little better, and maybe my level dropped a little bit. Those are very tricky moments, when you know your level has dropped and you want to do better, but things for one reason or another just aren't coming out," she said.
"I think patience was key there, just trying to work it out, and a strong mentality in terms of trying to find solutions."
Rising star
Once more, it was a reminder that Eala has become one of the sport's most articulate young athletes.
She has spoken on multiple occasions about deliberately working on how she communicates, recognizing the platform she now has and the responsibility that comes with it.
Speaking about the support she continues to receive, Eala added: "It adds to how meaningful my job is for me."
Long before becoming the face of Philippine tennis, she learned to anchor herself in her own standards instead of everyone else's expectations.
And perhaps, that's what's keeping her rise on the upswing.
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