FILIPINO tennis ace Alexandra Eala rallied past Chinese wild card Zheng Qinwen, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, on Tuesday, July 28, 2026 (US time), to kick off her Mubadala DC Open campaign in Washington, USA.
Eala won seven consecutive games to take the second set and dominated the decider to secure the match over Zheng, a former No. 4 now ranked No. 123 on the WTA Tour.
The 2025 Southeast Asian Games singles gold medalist has shown grit and determination in all her matches.
“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 the higher level,” the 21-year-old Eala was quoted as saying in a WTA official website news release.
“That just comes also with the level of my tennis getting higher because you always want to win, and you always want to fight. But I think now with the progress I’ve had this past year, I have a bit more of ammunition to back it up,” added Eala after avenging her 6–1, 6–7 (5), 3–6 semifinal loss to Zheng at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
Eala broke Zheng’s serve in the opening game, but the Chinese star responded with two breaks of her own to take the first set 6-4. The second set remained tight at 4-4 before Eala held serve and secured a decisive break to level the match.
In the decider, Eala took control by breaking Zheng in her first two service games. Although Zheng recovered one break, Eala broke again to take the set 6-1 and seal the victory.
Zheng fired 14 aces but was hampered by six double faults and won just 35.4 percent of points on her second serve. She converted only four of 11 break points while committing numerous unforced errors.
Eala landed 57.1 percent of her first serves, won nearly half of the points on her second serve and converted six of eight break points.
The world No. 28 Eala will next face seventh seed Leylah Fernandez, a 6-1, 6-4 winner over Polish Magda Linette.
Fernandez, a Filipino-Canadian, won the tournament last year after beating
Anna Kalinskaya, 6-1, 6-2, in the final.
Meanwhile, Italian Elisabetta Cocciareto outlasted Danish Clara Tauson, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (2), to advance to the second round against No. 8 seed Emma Navarro of USA.
Navarro took a first-round bye along with No. 1 Jessica Pegula of USA, No. 2 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, No. 3 Naomi Osaka of Japan, No. 4 Diana Shnaider, and No. 5 Anna Kalinskaya.
Sixth seed Madison Keys of USA lost to Liudmila Samsonova, 6-3, 4-6, 4-6. / PNA / XINHUA
