Alex Eala battles past Zheng Qinwen to reach DC Open second round

MANILA — Filipino tennis player Alexandra Eala overcame Chinese wild card Zheng Qinwen, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, on Tuesday (U.S. time) to open her Mubadala DC Open campaign in Washington, USA.

Eala bounced back after losing the first set by winning seven consecutive games in the second set before dominating the decider to complete the comeback against Zheng, a former world No. 4 who is currently ranked No. 123 in the WTA rankings.

The 2025 Southeast Asian Games singles gold medalist displayed her fighting spirit and determination throughout the match.

“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,” Eala said 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 ammunition to back it up,” she added.

The victory avenged Eala’s previous defeat to Zheng, who beat her in the semifinals of the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, with a 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-3 scoreline.

World No. 28 Eala will next face seventh seed Leylah Fernandez, who defeated Poland’s Magda Linette, 6-1, 6-4, in the opening round.

Fernandez, a Filipino-Canadian player, won the tournament last year after defeating Anna Kalinskaya, 6-1, 6-2, in the final.

In other matches, Italy’s Elisabetta Cocciaretto outlasted Denmark’s Clara Tauson, 4-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(2), to advance to the second round, where she will face eighth seed Emma Navarro of the United States.

Navarro received a first-round bye along with top seed Jessica Pegula of the United States, second seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, third seed Naomi Osaka of Japan, fourth seed Diana Shnaider, and fifth seed Anna Kalinskaya.

Sixth seed Madison Keys of the United States fell to Liudmila Samsonova, 6-3, 4-6, 4-6. (PNA) -Philippine News Agency