Eala beats last of Paris medalists

MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala now owns wins over the entire Paris Olympics podium.

Adding the Olympic champion to her growing list of giant-kills, the 21-year-old Filipina completed a rare trifecta after rallying for a 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 comeback win over Zheng Qinwen of China in Round 1 of the WTA 500 Mubadala DC Open yesterday at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center in Washington, D.C.

With the victory, World No. 29 Eala has now beaten all three Paris medalists – gold winner Zheng, silver winner Donna Vekic of Croatia, and bronze winner Iga Swiatek of Poland – turning another page in her young legend.

Eala was set to shoot for a quick follow-up late Wednesday against reigning champion and No. 7 seed Leylah Fernandez – a Filipina-Canadian representing Canada – for a spot in the quarterfinals.

The Mubadala tournament marks Eala’s first stop in the North American hard-court swing after a stellar grass-court campaign. Despite a two-week lull following her homecoming in the Philippines, Eala is playing with an all-time high in confidence and experience.

Eala credited her refined composure for the turnaround against Zheng.

“I think I’ve already had that in me. I think it’s definitely a mindset that you have. That being said, I think it’s been trained or I’ve practiced. I’ve had more experience now to implement that mindset at a higher level.”

That composure was on full display after she dropped the opener and fell behind 3-4 after losing serve in the second set. She responded with six unanswered points bridging the last two sets, racing to a 4-0 lead in the decider to close it out.

Eala is now eager to finally solve Fernandez after falling 6-1, 6-4 to her in the Stuttgart Open, a clay event, earlier this year.