Continuing her strong run in the competition.
On Thursday, July 30 (Manila time), Filipina tennis star Alex Eala returned to the court at the ongoing Mubadala DC Open in Washington, D.C., USA.
The 21-year-old went up against the WTA 500 tournament’s defending champ, 23-year-old Canadian netter Leylah Fernandez, in the Round of 16.
Fresh from her win against Paris Olympics gold medalist Zheng Qinwen in the previous round, Alex, world no. 28, has brought her strong A-game in order face Leylah, the current world no. 34, who defeated her at the Stuttgart Open in Germany last April.
The first set saw the Pinay netter rallying a 3-0 early lead. Despite her opponent scoring two wins, Alex remained focused and secured a win by finishing the opening set strongly.
Meanwhile, in the succeeding set, the Birmingham Open 125 champion was met with tougher opposition from the defending DC Open champion, who sought to secure foothold and was able to lead 5-1 at one point.
Nonetheless, despite it being no walk in the park, Eala was able to push the game and level the field and lead the match 6-5, before Fernandez scored another game to force the match to a tiebreak.
But it was clear that it Alex’s day, with the rising tennis star ending the game victorious with the final board reading 6-2, 7-6 (1).
Currently, details about Alex’s next bout have yet to be announced.
